


Unexpected

by coffeewithsunshine



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Best Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Multi, No Arrow, No island, One Night Stands, Slow Burn, Unplanned Pregnancy, lots and lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2016-03-26
Packaged: 2018-04-03 04:52:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 69,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4087639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeewithsunshine/pseuds/coffeewithsunshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity Smoak recently moved to Starling City hoping to start a new life. With a new job and new friends, everything in her life is going great. When her best friend Sara convinces her to go on a date with elusive womanizer Oliver Queen, whom she only barely knows through her friends, she doesn't want much from it--but accidentally ends up sleeping with him. They decide it's a mistake and attempt to go on as if it didn't happen. However, their one night stand brings consequences when Felicity finds out she's pregnant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Come On, It'll Be Fun.

**Author's Note:**

> All right, so this is my first fan fic. I'm not sure what to expect. This story has been floating around in my head for some time and someone encouraged me to just write it. So, here it is. Hope you enjoy it. (:

When thinking about the future, Felicity would have never thought she would be in this situation. She never imagined she would ever be in this predicament. She was only twenty-five for goodness sakes. She shouldn’t _even_ be thinking about this for at least another five years. But here she was, and there wasn’t much she could do about it. She looked at the timer on her phone. In three minutes her life would go one of two ways. Either everything would go on as it had been or it would drastically change forever. As the timer ticked down, she bit her lip in anticipation, thinking back to how she ended up here in the first place.

_______________

“Come on Felicity, it’ll be fun. You’ll enjoy yourself,” Sara, her best friend, told her. She was currently trying to set Felicity up on a date.

“I don’t think so. You’re attempting to set me up on a date with your ex-boyfriend, who is also your sister’s ex-boyfriend, and her husband’s best friend—and I’m friends with all of you! If that’s not the definition of awkward, then I don’t know what is.” She looked at Sara pointedly, “Why are you doing this again?”

“Because . . . you and Oliver are the only ones not in a relationship . . . so I thought maybe you could try going on a date, see where it goes from there. Plus, you need some fun. You’re all work and no play. And, Oliver could really use someone like you in his life. It’s not like you’re getting married, just dinner. And, if it doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out. Just humor me, please.”

Felicity looked at her, “Just one date?”

“I promise,” Sara told her.

She thought about it again. “You’re not going to stop until I say ‘yes’ are you?” Felicity asked.

“Nope.”

“All right, I guess I can do one date. And you’ll never bother me about this again?”

“You will not hear another peep out of me—I swear.”

Felicity had first met Sara, when she moved to Starling City eight months ago. Felicity had just started working at Merlyn Global when she ran into Sara—literally—in the lobby. Felicity had immediately began babbling, to which Sara had responded with, “You’re cute,” and they had been friends ever since. Sara had then introduced her to her sister Laurel and her husband, Tommy Merlyn, hence why she had been at Merlyn Global, and their four year-old daughter, Rebecca. She had gotten to know all of them and felt like she fit in well within their group. Sara had also introduced Felicity to her girlfriend Nyssa, whom she never really knew how to act around. She didn’t appear very friendly at first, but after some time the two had found a balance and formed a friendship. Felicity definitely considered her one of her closest friends now. But, the one member she hardly knew was Oliver.

Sara had informed her of their history. He was Tommy’s best friend. She had met him once and since then had only seen him a handful of times. Never in intimate settings, always when they all went out as a group. Even then, he always went off on his own to find someone to spend his night with. Felicity had never really thought much about it—to be honest she hadn’t really cared at all. She knew he had a reputation, which is why she was hesitant about it now. But, there was no going back. If there was one thing Felicity never did, it was back down. She always took things head on.

It was then that a question popped into her head. “Wait, how did you get him to agree?”

_______________

When Tommy had told him he had something important to talk about, he had not expected this. Actually, this was probably the last thing he would have thought of.

“Do you think that I need help finding a date?” Oliver asked.

“What? No. I think we both know that you don’t need any help in that department,” Tommy answered.

“Then why are you trying to set me up? With Felicity? I hardly even know her. I’ve only talked to her a few times.” Oliver thought back to their encounters—if they could even be called that. They’d only interacted a handful of times, and even then they hadn’t exchanged anything other than friendly “Hellos.” They didn’t know each other.

“Look,” Tommy began, “Laurel and Sara are making me do this. For some reason, unknown to me, they have concocted this idea that since you and Felicity are the only two within our group without a significant other, you two should go on a date. Sara has been bugging me about this for a while. And you know her; she won’t stop until you say ‘yes.’ Now, here’s the deal: it doesn’t have to be a forever thing. Just one date, no hard feelings on how it turns out. Sara only wants one date to prove whether the two of you should be together or not. She said that if it doesn’t work out, then it wasn’t meant to be. And, we both know you’re not cut out for commitment.”

And it was true, Oliver thought. Commitment wasn’t for him. It’s why he and Laurel had never worked out. The thought had always made him run for the hills. But, at least now at thirty, he no longer lied about it. Now, when he met women, he would tell them from the beginning that he wasn’t looking for a relationship. Some stayed, but others wouldn’t. He didn’t know if he ever pictured himself settling down. It had just never been something he thought about. He had too much going on right now. He spent his days learning about running his family’s company, Queen Consolidated, being prepped to take over. His parents had always wanted to see him take over, so Oliver did what was expected of him. But now that he had been doing it, Oliver wasn’t sure it truly was what he wanted. It had just been expected of him. Of course, he would never admit that. He didn’t know if he ever would.

Tommy pulled him out of his thoughts by asking one last question, “So, what do you say?”


	2. Friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The date is upon us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two. As of right now, I think I'll be posting a new chapter every Saturday, unless otherwise stated. I'm having a lot of fun with this story. Hope you enjoy. (:

Felicity felt nervous. She couldn’t really point the reason behind it. There was no reason for her to feel nervous. It was just one date. A date with a guy she hardly even knew. She was doing this mostly to please Sara. And, because maybe the thought of a date was appealing to her, no matter whom it was with. She was wearing a red dress with black heels and her hair was half up. This would do. She had agreed to meet Oliver at the restaurant, but now, she didn’t know if she could go through with it. Maybe she could just call Oliver and tell him she wasn’t feeling well. What if she said that she had to go early into work tomorrow to finish an important project? Or maybe she could say that her cousin, who after a terrible car accident became amnesiac and spent 3 years without remembering any of their family members, was in town for the night?

“Or I can say that I developed some time of weird skin disease flaring up and anybody within a 10 foot radius can get it... maybe I should just stick with saying I’m not feeling well.” She paused for a second, “I’m talking to myself again. I really need to stop doing that. And, I’m still talking.”

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. She wondered who it could be. She knew for a fact she was supposed to meet Oliver at the restaurant. When she opened the door, she came face to face with Sara.

“Damn it,” Felicity muttered.

“You were going to bail, weren’t you?” Sara asked.

It was scary how well Sara knew her. “No . . . maybe . . . yeah. It’s just a little to weird for me.”

“Felicity, it’ll be fine. You’re both adults. Well, you are. Oliver is still getting there. Stop worrying and get out there! Actually, I’ll give you a ride to the restaurant. That way I can make sure you follow through.”

“Wait, but then how am I going to get home?”

“Oh,” Sara said mischievously, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Now come on, you don’t want to be late!” Sara proceeded to grab Felicity’s jacket and purse, and pushed her out the door.

They arrived outside the restaurant and Sara turned to her. “Now, you don’t have anything to be nervous about. Nothing is going to happen. Oliver doesn’t bite. Have fun and enjoy yourself.”

“Easier said than done.” With that she got out of the car and made her way into the restaurant.

_______________

Oliver didn’t necessarily know what he was expecting. As he sat waiting for Felicity to arrive, he thought of ways to get out of the date. He didn’t do dates—he just didn’t. He did one night stands, but attachments were never a part of it. He was still contemplating leaving when he saw her walk in. If he were being honest with himself, he had always found Felicity attractive. The handful of times he had seen her, anyways. But, for some reason, tonight she looked absolutely breathtaking.

She reached the table and he immediately stood.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he replied. “Oh, let me get that for you,” he said as he moved to the other side of the table and pulled out the chair for her.

“Thank you.” Felicity sat down and Oliver made his way back to his chair.

“So have you been here before?” she began, “I haven’t. Although, I have a coworker who has. It’s a long story, but she came here once and got food poisoning. She was sick for like a week straight. I had to cover a lot of her work for her. Huh, I guess it wasn’t that long.” Felicity paused to see Oliver staring at her. “Sorry, sometimes I ramble. Mostly when I’m nervous.”

Oliver laughed, “It’s fine. I’m nervous, too.”

“Oliver Queen, nervous? Does that even happen?”

“Yes, especially when I haven’t done this in a long time.”

“Date? Huh, I would have thought you wouldn’t have a problem getting a date. Not that I’m saying you have trouble finding a date . . . do you?”

“Uh,” he was somewhat at a loss for words. “No, I don’t have difficulty finding dates. I just choose not to. I’m not really the dating type.”

“Wait, then how did I end up on a date with you?”

“Sara.”

“Of course. So you’re not looking for a relationship?”

Oliver didn’t know how to answer. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but at the same time he wanted to be honest. He just hoped she wouldn’t take it the wrong way. “No, not really.”

He heard her release a deep breath.

“Oh, thank God!” she exclaimed.

Well, he definitely wasn’t expecting that. “Okay, so where do we go from here?” he asked.

“Well, I know this really cool club called Poison. Want to go there? I’ll help you pick someone up. I can be your wingman! Although in this situation I’d be your wing woman. But anyways, it’s supposed to be a really fun place. So what do you say?”

“Uh, I don’t know. The owner and I aren’t really on good terms. We have some history.”

“Oh, come on. He probably won’t even be there.” She got up; grabbing her clutch, she motioned for him to get up with her hand, “Let’s go.”

And, somehow, he found himself unable to say “No” to her.

_______________

Sara walked into her and Nyssa’s apartment. Tommy, Laurel, and Nyssa were sitting at the dinning room table enjoying dinner.

Tommy was the first to notice her. “How did it go? Did she use an excuse to get out of it? I bet you anything she wanted to come up with a crazy story about some relative with a disease or something where she hadn’t seen them in years.”

Sara raised her eyebrow at him. Laurel spoke up. “Ignore him. He’s an odd one.”

“Yet you still married me,” Tommy pointed out.

“And I would do it all over in an instant.” Tommy and Laurel continued to stare at each other, their love for each other clear in their eyes.

“If you guys are done making heart eyes at each other,” Sara interrupted. “Felicity knows better than to pull something with me or rather with something I organized. I drove her to the restaurant so she wouldn’t be able to have an excuse not to go. That way I could make sure she actually made it inside.”

“Are you sure this was a smart idea? I mean you kind of put your hand in forcing your friends to date each other. It’s almost like putting two dolls together and telling them to kiss,” Nyssa pointed out.

Sara looked over to Nyssa. “I know what I’m doing. I don’t know what it is, but I just feel like they would get along very well. So maybe they’ll enjoy it. At least, maybe they can become friends. Even though we’ve hung out all together, Ollie always seems to go off on his own.

“If this totally tanks, then the idea was completely all yours. However, if you actually succeed in this, then we should think about going into the matchmaking business together,” Tommy said as he gave his trademark smile. “Think about it. We could call it Cupid’s Arrow.”

“Honey,” Laurel began, “maybe you should stick to your day job.”

Sara hadn’t been able to shake the thought from her head, since it first popped in a couple of months ago, that her two friends should date. It just made so much sense in her head, she didn’t know why she hadn’t thought about it before. As she continued on with her dinner, surrounded by some of her favorite people, she couldn’t shake the feeling that tonight would be a change in the lives of both Oliver and Felicity.

_______________

As they made their way to the bar, Felicity asked Oliver, “So, how do you normally pick up girls? I’m genuinely curious.”

They ordered their drinks.

“I don’t know if I feel comfortable discussing that with you,” he replied. “I mean, technically we’re on a date.”

“Oh! It’s not a date anymore. I’m pretty sure we’re done with that. So tell me, how do you get girls? Tell me all of your secrets.” She smiled at him, and he couldn’t help himself when smiling back at her. He found that it came naturally to him—it was easy. He didn’t understanding it, but he wouldn’t object it.

Oliver was nervous, but he didn’t know why. Technically they were no longer on a date. Now he was just with Felicity, his friend? His friend’s friend? “I don’t know, usually talking, smiling.”

“What? Do you have a panty dropping smile?” It came out of her mouth before she could stop it, but she fought against the urge to apologize. There was something about Oliver that was giving her the confidence to be herself without restrictions.

He laughed again and gave a shy smile. “It also never hurts to say I’m Oliver Queen.”

“Of course.” But, before he could say anything else, she changed the subject. “You know, I really think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.” As if on cue, their drinks arrived.

“To friendship!”

_______________

Many drinks later, Felicity found herself with a very enjoyable buzz. She was still attempting to find Oliver the right woman to go home with. But, the more time they spent together, the more Oliver found himself not wanting to leave Felicity’s side. He was truly enjoying her company. He didn’t care about going home with anybody.

“Okay, what about her?” She pointed across the bar. “She has really pretty hair. And, it’s very long. I wonder what kind of shampoo she uses. I mean, just look at it! I could curl myself on it and fall asleep.”

“Okay, I think you’ve had enough,” he said, taking the drink out of her hand.

“I don’t think I’ve had enough yet. Just one more.”

At that exact moment, Oliver caught sight of a group of men making their way to them. “Crap.”

“What?”

Remember when I said I had history with the owner?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, that history is going to come up right now, and it’s not going to be pretty.”

The men stopped in front of them. “Queen,” one of them said. He was in the middle of the other two. He must be the owner.

“Fuller,” Oliver said with a slight nod.

“You two, come with me.”

Felicity stared at Oliver, before they were both being escorted to a back room. “Someone’s grouchy,” Felicity stated.

As they made their way, Oliver whispered in her ear, “You’re not helping.”

“Hey! I’m just making observations.”

Once there, the guy named Fuller spoke up again. “You know, when I heard you were here, I didn’t quite believe them. I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to show your face at my club. But, here you are.”

Felicity could see the tension between the two of them. If she had a knife with her, she was sure she could cut it.

“What are you doing here?” the guy named Fuller asked. And really, who names someone Fuller? She hoped for his sake it was a last name, because if it was a first name, she felt sorry for him. It wasn’t until she noticed all four pairs of eyes staring at her that she realized she had spoken her thoughts out loud.

“Sorry, I swear that wasn’t an insult. Although I know it did kind of sound like it. Sometimes my brain and mouth don’t correlate well together.”

“Look,” Oliver spoke up, “I don’t want to cause any—“ Oliver didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence before Fuller punched him.

Throwing her palms up in the air, Felicity said, “Whoa! Maybe we should all calm down.”

“I want you both out of my club.” Fuller looked at Oliver before continuing, “You shouldn’t have come here. Maybe a little more common sense next time.”

Once outside, Felicity looked at Oliver. His face slightly red from the punch. And, it was her fault. She instinctively moved to touch it. The whole experience had caused her to begin sobering up. “That looks like it hurts. Come on, let’s catch a cab and go back to my place so we can put some ice on it.”

“No, you don’t have to do that. I can take care of it myself.”

“No, I made you come here to begin with. It’s my fault. Please let me make up for it.”

_______________

“So, you want to tell me exactly why you were punched?” She asked him as she handed him an ice pack. She sat besides him on the couch, with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

As he spoke, she poured wine into them. “Remember when I said we had history and we weren’t on good terms?” She nodded and he continued, “Well, I kind of slept with his fiancée.”

“Wow, I’m surprised all you got was a punch in the face.” She handed him one of the glasses.

“Thanks,” he muttered sarcastically, before taking a drink.

She laughed and they spend the rest of the night talking and drinking. Lots and lots of drinking.


	3. Aftermath.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Consequences of the previous night, a small time jump, and a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the third chapter, a little bit early (it's late Friday night in my time zone). I won't be able to update it tomorrow, so I wanted to make sure you guys had it beforehand. Hope you enjoy! (:

Advil. She needed Advil. That was her first thought when she woke up. Ugh, that and the annoying sunlight streaming through her bedroom window. Why had she drunk so much? In fact, she had a difficult time remembering anything, like how she had gotten into bed. The last thing she remembered was coming back to her apartment and talking with Oliver. She didn’t even remember him leaving. Yeah, that would be the last time she would be drinking for a while. She began to move out of the bed when she realized there was a very muscular arm wrapped around her waist. Her movement had caused the body said muscular arm was attached to, to groan.

Felicity’s eyes shot open. “Oh, no,” she whispered to herself. She lifted the sheet covering her to find what she was hoping she wouldn’t—herself naked. She was. She followed the arm to the body it was attached to; somehow hoping it wasn’t who she thought it was, but knowing it was. Her eyes made their way the face. Yep, Oliver-freaking-Queen. She had slept with Oliver Queen! She had had sex with Oliver! How had this happened?! Okay, well she knew how sex worked. This was the alcohol’s doing. Yeah, she definitely wouldn’t be drinking for a long time. What was she going to do? She thought about leaving, but then remembered it was her apartment. Why would she be the one to leave? Oh, God. She didn’t even have any memory of this.

She attempted to get out from under him without waking him. Slowly, she grabbed his arm, beginning to slide from underneath, making her way to the edge of the bed. However, it only resulted in him pulling her closer to his body. Her back to his front, she could feel his very muscular body. Her body betrayed her in its reaction of being so close to him, pushing back into him. She quickly recovered and remembered her original goal. Ever so slowly, she grabbed his wrist and began to move his arm off of her while she moved out from under to the edge of the bed. She made it off of the bed and mentally congratulated herself for not waking Oliver up. That victory was short lived, however, when she began walking towards her bedroom door and managed to trip over her own shoes and tumbled down. She heard movement from her bed and looked up. She found Oliver’s eyes fluttering open, and then looking over at her.

“Hi,” she tried, with an uneasy smile.

She could see comprehension dawn on Oliver’s face. He moved onto lay on his elbow.

“Did we?” he asked, motioning between the two of them with his other hand.

“Well, seeing both of our states of undress, I’m going to go with yes.” She only then realized she was still stark naked, sitting in front of Oliver, feet tangled in the straps of her shoes. She shot up from the floor, attempting to find something to cover herself, but managed to trip on her shoes again. This was definitely not her morning. She finally managed to untangle her feet and wrapped a blanket around herself, from off the floor.

“I slept with Oliver Queen and I don’t even remember any of it,” she muttered, and then became conscious of what she had said. Her eyes shot to his. “Not that I want to remember. Not that it would be a bad thing to remember either. I’m sure it was great. I’m sure you were great. Not saying that you would be bad. I wouldn’t know. Well, actually I should know, but due to the alcohol content in my body last night, I don’t.” She put her hand on her mouth to stop herself from talking. Oliver was still staring at her. Her ability to stick her foot in her mouth was never ending. She closed her eyes, counted to ten, and took her hand off of her mouth. “Okay, let me try that again. What I meant to say is, we obviously had sex and I don’t remember any of it. Do you?”

Oliver moved to sit up, the sheet pooling down to his waist. Felicity was momentarily distracted by the masterpiece that was his body. Damn, that man was built like Adonis.

He ran his hand through his hair, then spoke, “No, I don’t remember much from last night.”

“So, neither of us remembers anything. Okay, I think we can work with this. Why don’t we just decide to go our separate ways and neither of us speak of this ever again?”

Oliver continued to star at her. He wasn’t sure what to say. No one had been this up front with him before. “Uh, yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Part of him admired her for it, but there was another part, he found, that wanted to know more about her. The Felicity he had come to know last night—well, what he remembered of last night—was kind, caring, and funny. He hadn’t laughed like that in a long time. He didn’t know why he hadn’t gotten to know her sooner. Well, actually he did know. It was because he would only be around Sara and Laurel when Tommy was around. Even though the three of them were finally at a good place, he still found himself feeling uncomfortable around them. Tommy acted as a buffer.

“Right. And you cannot tell Tommy about this. Preferably anyone. Like at all.”

“Usually women I sleep with want to brag about me waking up in their bed.”

“Well, I’m not most women,” she said with a shy smile.

He continued to star at her, eyes in wonderment. “No, you’re not.”

She came to sit at the end of the bed. “Look, I’m not saying this to be mean. I hope none of what came out of my mouth offended you. That is the last thing I want to do. I just think that because of where I’m at in life, it would be best not to get involved with anyone right now. You know? In less than a year I moved across the country and began a new job. I just want to get acclimated first.” She moved her hand to his knee in a comforting manner. Remembering their current state of undress she asked, “I’m sorry, is this weird?” motioning to where her hand rested.

“A little,” he answered truthfully and she immediately removed her hand.

Her phone rang from somewhere in her living room and she left in search of it. She groaned as soon as she saw the name on her screen. “Hi Sara.”

“Good morning. What are you doing?” Sara asked.

Not wanting Sara to know what happened, she quickly supplied, “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“Okay, well, I was hoping we could grab some brunch? Maybe you could tell me about your date last night? I have to see if I can go into the matchmaking business.”

Felicity felt frozen for a second. “Uhhhh…. I don’t know if you’d really want to get into that business. Stick to your day job or rather night job. I have to shower. I’ll meet you at Old Soul in an hour?”

“Sounds good. See you soon!”

Felicity hung up the phone, took a deep breath. Oliver then made his way out of her room, fully dressed. “I’m just going to get going,” he said, pointing his thumb in the direction of the door.

“Okay,” Felicity responded, unsure of what else to say.

“So, um,” Oliver began as he made his way out of her apartment, Felicity staying by the front door, “I guess I’ll just see you around?”

“Or not see you. You know, since we normally don’t hang out with each other.” She face palmed. “But, yeah, I’ll see you around, and not talk about last night. Like ever.”

“Yeah, right.”

Felicity closed her front door after he left, leaning against it and whispered, “Frack.”

 

_______________ 

 

Once showered and dressed, she began to make her way to her and Sara’s favorite spot. She walked around the corner and saw Sara already sitting at their usual table outside. When she got there, she found Sara had already ordered her favorites for her. “You know me so well,” Felicity said as she sat down across from her.

“Of course. I’m your best friend,” Sara responded with a smile. “So, tell me about last night.”

Felicity momentarily choked on the drink of coffee she had taken.

“Are you okay?” Sara asked, concerned.

“I’m fine, it went down the wrong pipe.” Felicity patted her chest, attempting to clear her windpipe from the coffee.

That appeared to make Sara curious. “Did something happen last night?”

“What? No. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. I mean, well, besides the date that both Oliver and I went on. Because you drove me to the restaurant, so obviously you know that happened. But that was it. Nothing happened after that. Well, actually we did end up going to a club afterwards. And left separately after that. Not together. Anywhere. He went his way and I went my way. Alone.” Oh, God, Felicity thought. This was not the way to stop Sara from questioning her—or believing her for that matter. Felicity crinkled her nose and tried again, struggling to calm her heartbeat. “That came out all wrong. The date was weird. I didn’t want to be there, he didn’t want to be there. So we agreed to not make it a date. Then we went to a club and said our goodbyes, and that was it. We both went out separate ways. Your matchmaking skills did not work here. Definitely no sparks.” She hoped that was been enough to convince Sara to drop the subject and just forget about it.

“Okay then… I guess maybe I was wrong.”

Felicity changed the subject. “So, how are things going at your new job?”

Sara had recently began working as a bartender at a bar called Oblivion. Her family had voiced their opinions about her working at a bar, but Sara had stuck to her guns and said it was what she wanted to do. It was something that she enjoyed, and eventually, her family accepted and supported her in it.

“It’s going well. I’m really enjoying what I’m doing. How are things at Merlyn Global?”

“They’re going. I feel like I’m learning so much.” She smiled. “And, you know me, I love computers.”

“Hey, so I recently watched this video where the parents tell these two sisters they’re going to an amusement park. One of them freaks out, obviously excited, but the other just stares, no emotion.” Sara looked up the video on her phone and then handed it over to Felicity so she could watch. For the remainder of their lunch, they continued to talk about everything and anything, except Oliver and the date. And for that, Felicity was grateful.

 

_______________ 

 

One week later…

Tommy and Oliver had made it a tradition to get together at least once a week. They were used to being together all the time, having known each other for the majority of their lives. Their friendship had struck up easily. There was nothing difficult about it. But, at this point in their lives—mostly Tommy’s—responsibility had taken over. They could no longer have drunken nights all the time. They could no longer afford to be the screw-ups they had been ten years ago. Especially Tommy who had a pregnant wife and child. This was what worked for them these days.

Oliver arrived, asking the hostess for their table. Recognizing him, the hostess showed him to a table in the back, where Tommy was already sitting.

“Hey, sorry, I was held up at the office in a meeting with my dad,” Oliver said as he sat down.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I haven’t been here too long. I know how the office life is,” Tommy answered.

Taking in his surroundings, Oliver chuckled. “Ten years ago, would you have pictured us here?”

“God, no, not at all. Actually holding down jobs? Talking about business with our family companies like it’s nothing? Who have we become?”

“You’ve become a family man,” Oliver answered seriously.

Tommy smiled. “That’s true. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I love getting to come home to Laurel. Man, that moment when I get home from work and Rebecca runs up to me and hugs me? Whatever I went through in the day, no matter how awful it was, that moment makes everything instantly better. Having kids changes everything. You begin to see the world differently.” He paused. “Do you ever see yourself settling down?”

Oliver choked on the sip of water he had taken. When he was able to calm down he answered truthfully. “I don’t think that’s a life I’ll every have. I don’t think I’m cut out for it.”

“Well, maybe one day you’ll be able to find someone who will love you and all of your flaws.”

Oliver smiled a tight smile at his friend. At that moment, he couldn’t stop the face that flashed into his mind. Blonde hair and blue eyes haunted him for the rest of his meal with Tommy. For some reason unknown to him, he couldn’t get her out of his mind.

 

_______________

 

Six weeks later…

Felicity was running late. She stumbled through her hallway, attempting to put on her shoes. She managed to make it to her kitchen unharmed. Definitely a win for her. She poured herself some coffee in her travel mug and then ran out the front door. However, she quickly reentered the apartment when she realized she had forgotten her phone and keys on the counter. This time when exciting, she managed to remember to lock her front door. It was unlike her to sleep through her alarm, but for the last few days, Felicity found herself exhausted all the time. And, for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why. There had been no significant changes in Felicity’s life. She was sure she was just coming down with something. She went throughout her day feeling queasy. She was probably coming down with the flu, she thought to herself, but continued on with her day. After work, she made her way to Laurel and Tommy’s house. They had invited her and Sara over for dinner. It was something they had tried to do on a regular basis. When she arrived, she found Sara leaning against the island, in the kitchen. She was talking with Laurel who was sitting on a bar stool off of the island. She sat down on one of the other bar stools. From the kitchen window, she could see Tommy chasing Rebecca around the backyard. He was a great dad. Felicity had always thought so. He constantly showered Rebecca with love and affection. It was something Felicity wished she would’ve had growing up. Felicity’s dad had abandoned her and her mom when Felicity was young. She didn’t really remember him, but she did remember how much it hurt when he left. In moments where she would see young children with their dads, she would feel a pang of jealousy. In those moments she promised herself that when she had kids of her own, both parents would be present in their life. She wouldn’t allow for her child to grow up the way she had. Laurel broke her out of her thoughts.

“So how have you been? I feel like I’ve hardly seen you these last couple of weeks.”

“Yeah, I know. I think I’m getting sick. I haven’t been feeling well the last few days, maybe weeks. I’m always exhausted. Maybe work has just been getting to me more than I thought. There’s this project we’ve been working on and we’re starting to get under the time crunch.”

The oven timer went off, signaling the food was ready. Sara went to take out the lasagna out of the oven. She set it on a cooling rack on the island. She removed the cover on it and the smell immediately hit Felicity, making her nauseous. Certain foods had been doing that to her lately. Yeah, she was definitely coming down with something.

She covered her mouth and nose, in order to stop herself from throwing up. There was no bigger insult to someone’s cooking than throwing up.

“You okay Felicity?” Sara asked, concern clear on her face.

“Yeah, can you just please cover that up. I’m starting to feel clammy. I don’t know what’s been going on with my stomach lately.”

Sara covered the offensive smell and Felicity instantly felt better. She took a deep breath and said, “Thank you.”

Laurel eyed Felicity, rubbing her stomach absentmindedly. “You know,” she began, “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you were pregnant.”

It was intended to come off as a joke, Felicity knew this, but it still didn’t stop her eyes from shooting up to meet Laurel’s. Fear immediately began to take over. Eyes wide, Felicity began counting days. Numbers had always been her friend, but today, it looked like they were her enemy. She attempted to answer questions she had in her head, to no avail.

Taking in Felicity’s reaction, Laurel’s eyes widened fractionally. “You’re not pregnant… are you?”

Felicity continued to have an internal freak out. This constituted as valid reasoning for a freak out. This could not be happening to her, but yet here she was. There was a possibility she was pregnant. And if she was pregnant, the father of her child was none other than Oliver Queen: billionaire playboy. If only she could remember all of the events from that night. Almost two months later, only little pieces from their night together had come back to her. Whether or not they had used protection was still unknown. Being inside her own head, Felicity had failed to realize she had begun pacing back and forth.

“Felicity!” Laurel broke her out of her thoughts, again.

Sara put her hands on her shoulders, stopping her from continuing her pacing. “Felicity, what’s going on?”

Felicity looked back and forth between Sara and Laurel. “I think… I think I might be pregnant.”

A collective gasp came from Laurel and Sara, before they both asked, “WHAT?!?!”

“Shhhh!!! I don’t want the entire neighborhood to know.” She looked out towards the backyard, where Tommy was still playing with Rebecca. “Especially Tommy.”

Laurel scrunched her nose at that. “Wait, why don’t you want Tommy to know?”

Sara’s eyes widened. “Felicity? Who’s the dad?”

Felicity attempted to deflect the question. “I mean, we don’t even know if I’m really pregnant. I could just be sick. It’s possible I have food poisoning, and that’s why I’m having trouble keeping some things down. Oh, God. It sounds ridiculous even to my own ears.”

“Felicity,” Sara pressed.

Felicity once again looked between the two Lance sisters, unsure how to continue. “Oliver Queen.”


	4. Consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never quite understood when other authors said life gets in the way, but that's exactly what happened to me last weekend. Sorry, about this chapter being late. There was an event I was in charge of, and I didn't realize how much time and effort it would take from me. But, after this, we should be back to weekly postings on Saturdays. Except this one. 
> 
> This one was somewhat difficult to write. It brought on feels for me. Especially the first part. Hope you enjoy it. (:

“WHAT?!?!” Both Laurel and Sara exclaimed, again.

“Shhhh!!! You two need to keep it down.”

“Wait,” Sara began, “I thought you said you and Oliver went home separately the night of your date? Did you two get together some time afterwards?”

“What? No. We, kind of, um… we went home together after our date that wasn’t a date. We went back to my place after the club and we were drinking...” Felicity elaborated with her hands, adding emphasis to the story, letting the words linger in the air.

“Every child’s dream of how they were conceived,” Laurel said.

Sara shot her a glare and Laurel pantomimed sealing her mouth shut. Sara looked back at Felicity before prodding her to continue, “Go on.”

“Then I woke up in the morning with a naked Oliver in my bed. I had no recollection of us actually having sex. We drank too much. I mean, at this point, there are bits and pieces that have come back to me. Like when he did this really neat thing with his tongue… which I’m sure the two of you already know.” Felicity’s eyes went wide again. “Oh, God. The father of my unborn child has slept with two of my friends, and who knows how many others in Starling.” Felicity put her head in her two hands. She stopped and looked up at Sara. “Wait, he hasn’t slept with Nyssa has he?”

Sara froze, caught off guard, before speaking. “What? No. She had only been living in Starling for a couple of months before we met.” Sara paused. “No. That just didn’t happen. No.”

“Okay, well before we continue to freak out over this, you need to take a test to see if you’re actually carrying the billionaire man-whore’s child.”

Sara glared at Laurel again.

“What? I get to call him that because we dated.”

Sara just shook her head.

“Come on,” Laurel directed for them to follow her.

Just then, Tommy walked in through the sliding glass door, Rebecca hanging off his back. “Hey, where are you all going?”

Felicity froze; she _did not_ want Tommy to know what was going on.

“Oh we just have some girl stuff we have to take care of,” Laurel answered nonchalantly. How she was able to play it off so cool, Felicity had no idea. But then again, she wasn’t the one facing the idea of becoming a new mom; of having a child to care for.

“And it requires all three of you?”

“Yes. Honey, you have a daughter, and maybe a second one on the way, we don’t know yet. You should just start accepting the fact women do things that sometimes make absolutely no sense. Dinner is ready. You can go ahead and serve yourself and Rebecca. We’ll be back in a bit.”

They left Tommy a little dumbfounded as they made their way to Laurel’s bedroom.

“Wait, shouldn’t we be going to the store?” Felicity asked.

“What? No, I have pregnancy tests here,” Laurel answered.

Sara stared at her. “You just have pregnancy tests lying around?”

Laurel pointed at her stomach. “Have you not seen the state I’m currently in? Plus, with Tommy, it’s kind of necessary to stay stocked at all times.”

Sara put her hands up to cover her ears. “Okay, I do not need a front seat to my sister’s sex life.”

Laurel shrugged then went into the bathroom attached to her room and Felicity moved to sit on the bed. She couldn’t believe with was happening. She knew better. She didn’t understand how she had allowed herself to be in this situation. She fell back onto the bed, lying down, and covered her face with her hands. She had the intense desire to cry. Nope, she wouldn’t cry. But, it almost felt like she had no control over it.

On the brim of tears, Felicity felt a hand grab hers lying besides her. She didn’t have to look to know whose it was. It was supportive and helped her stay somewhat calm.

Laurel came back out of the bathroom. “Here, I’m sure you know what to do.” Laurel handed her the box.

Sara gave her a hug, before she headed into the bathroom. Felicity had always thought the idea of peeing on a stick as odd. Of course she understood the science behind it, but she still found it odd. She opened up the box and read the instructions. She was not taking any chances with this. She would be doing everything exactly as the manufacturers had written it. They obviously knew what they were doing. She was sure they sold a million of these a month, maybe a week, who knew? She went through and followed instructions, step by step. When she was done, she set the stick aside and washed her hands. She took her phone out of her pocket. She set the timer for three minutes, just as the box directed, and walked out to Laurel’s bedroom where she found both Sara and Laurel sitting on the bed. In three minutes she would find out whether or not she was carrying Oliver Queen’s child. That stick held her entire future in its hands.

She sat next to Sara, letting her elbows sit on her knees, putting her head in her hands. She waited for the timer to go off, to be able to look at the results, to find out if she would be a mom at twenty-five or not. And, even though she so desperately wanted the outcome to be different, she knew deep in her bones what the result was. Her body had shown her, even though she hadn’t been aware. All she knew she was waiting on now was confirmation. This definitely had not been how she had pictured her life turning. She hadn’t even wanted to think about this for another five years.

She looked over at Sara and found her staring at her. Felicity held out her right hand to her. “Will you please hold my hand? I know it’s kind of dumb and childish, but I’m really scared right now.”

Sara immediately took hold of her hand, offering the support she knew Felicity needed. “It’s not dumb, and it’s not childish.”

The timer went off.

Felicity shut it off, and then made her way towards the bathroom, Sara still holding her hand. Laurel trailed behind them.

Felicity picked up the stick: positive.

She looked over at Sara, who had widened her eyes at the result. Instantly she had Felicity in her arms, and Felicity did the only thing she could do: she cried. She cried for the goals she had set out for herself and would now have to take a backseat. She cried for her vision of a family she had created growing up, and now felt wouldn’t come to fruition. She cried for little Felicity, and the pain that had come from being abandoned by her father; the pain of having an incomplete family. Laurel stepped up to both of them and hugged Felicity as well. And Felicity just cried. She cried, allowing herself to let it all out.

 

_______________

 

When she had finished, she untangled herself from between Sara and Laurel.

Laurel spoke up first. “So, I hate to be the one to bring this up, but what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea. I mean, I don’t know if I can even do this,” Felicity answered honestly.

Sara looked at her in the eyes, making sure she had her attention. “If you’re struggling to be sure of anything right now, you can be sure of us. We’ll always be here for you no matter what. You’ll always have us Felicity. We may not be blood, but we’re family.”

Felicity hugged Sara, fiercely. At that moment she was thankful for the friendship they had created. And, as she looked at both Sara and Laurel, she realized she was not alone. She finally had a family. In that moment, she knew that no matter what, they would always be there for her. Little Felicity had finally found a place where she belonged. She smiled at them and was returned with two equal smiles.

After another second, a thought popped into her head, her red eyes widening. “I have to tell Oliver.”

“What are you going to tell him?” Laurel asked.

“I don’t know. I was thinking something along the lines of ‘Hey, remember that night we had sex? I know I said we should never speak of it again, but turns out we might have not used protection. Want to know how I know that? I’m pregnant.’”

Sara and Laurel both stared at her.

“Yeah… you might not want to go that route,” Sara told her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Felicity looked at both women and asked, “What am I going to do?”

“You’ll figure it out Felicity, and like Sara said, you have us. You’ll always have us.”

 

_______________

 

That night after Felicity made it home, she went straight into the bathroom to take a shower. After taking off her clothes, she looked at herself in the mirror, looking for any visible changes in her body. Now paying attention, she could see changes in her body she hadn’t noticed before. Her breasts were fuller, not by much, but enough to be noticeable. Her stomach was still flat. Out of instinct or pure curiosity—Felicity wasn’t sure—she put her hand on her abdomen. Feeling it for the first time since she had found out. She got into the shower in a daze. Still transfixed by the day’s events. When she got out and was dressed, she grabbed her phone and prepared a quick message. She had to tell Oliver. He deserved to know, but she wanted to do it in person. This wasn’t the type of news you told someone in the same manner as asking them about their day. She sent Oliver a message. She hadn’t expected a quick response, but he texted back a “Hello.” She wrote another message asking him if he could meet up with her for lunch during the week. He responded with the days that would work for him.  She told him Thursday would be good. She smiled and sat on her bed, grabbing her tablet off the nightstand. She began searching websites with information on what was happening inside her body now. She became more and more fascinated with every article she read. She found herself transfixed with pictures of what her baby currently looked like. She fell asleep reading, with the tablet resting besides her.

 

_______________

 

When he had received a text from Felicity on Monday night, he had been surprised. She had been the last person he had expected to contact him. They hadn’t spoken or seen each other since that morning. Every time he had met with Tommy, part of him had been itching to ask about her. However, as soon as that part came up he squashed it down, reminding himself that wasn’t something he was looking for. Plus, she had made it clear she wanted to forget that entire night happened. Her behavior about the situation had staggered him. Normally, he found himself being the one to sneak out on girls, not wanting to spend more time with them than necessary. But with her, the roles had been reversed. She had been so straightforward in wanting to pretend it had never happened.

When he arrived to the restaurant, he was directed towards the back and out onto the patio. He saw her then, her body language showing she felt uneasy. Once she noticed him, she gave him a small wave. He waved back, finding himself anxious.

She began speaking as soon as he sat down, barely giving him a chance to catch up. “I wasn’t sure if you were actually going to make it. I mean, why would you come? I pretty much told you I wanted nothing to do with you." She paused. "You don’t hate me do you? Did I make things even more awkward by asking you here?”

He was quick to answer. “No . . . well, maybe. I guess I just don’t understand why you wanted to meet up.”

“Oh, yeah. Well, I just wanted to catch up a bit and see how you were doing. We haven’t spoken since… that morning.” She looked around the patio, taking a deep breath, before asking, “So, how have you been?”

He felt awkward. Taking in her reactions, he could tell she felt awkward, too. The whole situation was awkward. Wanting to move past it, he answered her question. “I’ve been well. I’ve been busy with work, trying to finalize deals. Nothing much other than that.”

“Busy is good. Good to hear.” Felicity picked up glass of water and took a sip. The awkwardness was palpable.

The silence stretched on for a few seconds, then Oliver cleared his throat and asked, “How about yourself? What have you been up to?”

Felicity rubbed her hands on her thighs. “Well, that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Why I called you. So I know I asked you to never speak about that night.” She paused before continuing, “Do you remember any of it?”

Oliver wasn’t sure how to reply. He had drunk a lot that night. They both had. There were bits and pieces that had come back to him, but for the most part, his recollection of what took place was blank.

“I remember some of it. Do you?”

“Some of it.”

They continued to stare at each other, unsure how to continue.

“Okay, I don’t even know how to begin or how to say this. I really didn't expect this would be how I would be having this type of conversation.”

Oliver could see her eyes had become glassy.

“Normally, I’m responsible and on top of everything. So, I have no idea how this happened. I mean, I know how this happened—”

“Felicity,” he interrupted her, wanting to get to the bottom of what was going on, “what’s going on?”

She stared at him directly in the eyes, her own appearing on the verge of tears. “I’m pregnant.”

Almost as if on cue, the waiter had managed to trip over something, causing all the contents of his tray to fall on the floor, breaking into pieces. Quite a few of the customers looked over at the commotion. And, a small part of his brain found it interesting that while he had just been giving life altering news, everything around him was the same. The incident with the waiter spurred Felicity into action. By the time he was turning his head back to her, she was already gathering her things. With her revelation, he felt as if all of the air had been knocked out of him. He definitely hadn’t been expecting that. He didn’t know what to say. He was having a difficult time formulating his thoughts into words. Heck, he was having a difficult time formulating any thoughts!

“You know what? I’m just going to get going. I think you need some time to process. I need some time process this. I just . . . I just thought you should know. You have a right to know.” She took a deep breath. He could tell how difficult it was for her to tell him this. She got up and moved to the end of the table, next to him. “I know this is a lot. It’s a lot for me to handle. But, I think we could both use some time to I don't know . . . think."

Oliver attempted to speak--to say something. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He was still at a loss for words. He watched her leave the restaurant. Felicity telling him she was pregnant was the last thing he would have expected when she had asked him to meet up with her. He had never dreamed of this actually happening to him. Maybe when he was younger and screwing around, but not now. He had admitted to himself long ago, and most recently to Tommy, that settling down wasn’t something he was looking for. It was as if fate was playing a joke on him. He had gotten the one thing he had repeatedly stated he did not want.

In a haze he moved to leave the restaurant, dropping a few bills on the table to cover for whatever Felicity may have ordered. He had been careless when he was younger, he was surprised he hadn’t gotten someone pregnant then. But now? Now he felt he had grown up a lot since. He didn’t do stupid and reckless anymore. That was why he was having a difficult time wrapping his head around the news. When he was finally learning to do well, to be responsible, he was faced with this. He was having a hard time believing it. More questions began flooding his mind. What would his life be like if he stepped up to raise this child? That was if Felicity decided she wanted to keep it. Could he picture himself raising a child? Would he be a good father? Could he be one at all?

A father. He was going to be a father. He attempted to grasp the meaning, but couldn’t seem to find a footing in it. He needed advice. He needed guidance on what to do with this. Oliver pulled out his phone and called the one person he knew would be able to help him think things through. When he heard the line pick up, he asked, “Hey, can you meet up for a drink?”

 

_______________

 

Felicity walked throughout the streets of Starling City, unsure of where she was going. She felt awful for having just left Oliver at the restaurant, but she couldn’t stay there any longer. She couldn’t handle him possibly being upset with her. She couldn’t handle him being angry with her. She couldn’t handle how that conversation might have gone, so she left. Maybe that made her a coward, but right now, Felicity had bigger issues to deal with. Like, the life that was now growing inside of her. She still couldn’t believe it. She had known for a few days now, but it still felt unthinkable. Felicity was unsure as to what she was going to do. She figured she would need to eventually sit down with Oliver and discuss how they would continue from here. And that time, she couldn’t just run out on him. The fetus taking up lease in her uterus was made up of half his chromosomes. For now, she just needed some time to breathe. As she walked down the street, she paused when she walked by a baby boutique, something from the window display catching her attention. She stayed staring at the display, unable to move away. In the next minute, she headed inside.

Once inside she was mesmerized by everything in there. Cribs, bedroom décor, and stuffed animals, amongst other things. She walked over to the window display, tentatively reaching out her hand to touch the small cream-colored teddy bear in the crib. She felt the tears in her eyes threatening to come out. Without another thought, she picked it up and made her way to the register. The young cashier, who couldn’t be older than twenty, looked at her, taking in the tears that had begun streaming down her face, before asking, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Okay, no not really. Actually, not at all. I just found out I’m pregnant. And, the father of my child is apparently someone who has slept with a bunch of women. Like a lot. I don’t even know the number. And, we’re not even in a relationship. I slept with him once—just one time. I never believed them when they said all it took was one time. I guess they showed me. And, I just told him and I think he hates me, and I have no idea what I’m going to do. And I’ve been walking around the city for the last couple of hours just trying to figure out what I’m going to do and…” Felicity paused, taking in the girl’s wide eyes and frightened face. “And, you did not need to know all of that. I’m just going to stop talking and backtrack in 3-2-1.” She took a deep breath. “I’m fine.”

“Um, it’ll be $10.”

Felicity handed the cashier a $10 bill. “Here’s some advice: stay in school and when your friend tries to convince you to go on a date with someone, don’t do it. Don’t go drinking and sleeping with them, because you’ll just end up pregnant.” The young woman just looked scared as she handed Felicity her purchase in a bag. Felicity grabbed the bag, and then spoke softly, “I’m just… I’m just going to go now. Um… I hope you have a good day.” Felicity walked out of the boutique, mentally chastising herself for her mini breakdown. She took out her phone and sent a text to Sara, asking her where she was. She needed to calm down, and if anybody could do that for Felicity, it was Sara.

 

_______________

 

Oliver walked inside, already catching sight of Tommy at the bar. He greeted him when he reached him, “Hey, thank you for meeting me.” He quickly ordered a beer.

“Sure buddy, any time. What’s going on? You sounded worried on the phone.”

“Um, I had a bombshell dropped on me. I guess I’m having trouble processing it, dealing with it.”

“What happened?”

The bartender gave Oliver his beer and he proceeded to drink it all quickly.

"I guess you were thirsty," Tommy said. 

Oliver just chuckled, without much humor. “Um, you remember how Sara got Felicity and I go on a date?” When Tommy nodded, Oliver continued,  “Well, we kind of slept together that night. Then the next morning neither of us had any recollection, and Felicity asked for us to go our separate ways as if it hadn’t happened. Which I was fine with, but, she just told me she’s pregnant.”

Tommy spit out his drink, barely missing Oliver’s face. “What?!” Tommy asked. Unable to come up with anything else, he followed up with, “Wow. So that’s why the girls were acting odd the other night. It makes sense now.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, Felicity and Sara were over on Monday night. They usually come and have dinner with us every once in a while. But this time, they were kind of secretive and went off into mine and Laurel's bedroom, the three of them. But Felicity, she looked absolutely terrified. I knew she was trying to hide something, but I guess I didn’t think it would be this. What are you going to do?”

“I have no idea. She walked out on me during lunch. She told me, then the waiter had an accident, she freaked out and left.”

“Yep, that sounds like Felicity. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just want to talk to her. Figure out what’s going on, what’s going to happen—together.”

“Then, let’s get you both together so you can talk. Leave it to me, I’ll get something figured out.” Tommy put a comforting hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay buddy. I’m here for you.”

In that moment, Oliver felt like he could finally breathe for the first time since Felicity had told him about the pregnancy.

 

_______________

 

Felicity entered Laurel and Tommy’s house, and followed the sound of laughter she heard coming from the living. There she found Laurel and Sara on the couch. They looked up when they heard her at the entry.

“Hey,” Sara began. She got up and pulled Felicity into a hug. “How’s your day been?”

“Hmmm…. not so great.”

“Well, Laurel and I were just going to raid her pantry for junk food.”

“That actually sounds really good. Where’s Rebecca?”

“My dad took her out for the evening. He wanted to take her to dinner and a movie,” Laurel answered. “So, we figured we could make it into a girls night. It sounds like you could really use one of those.”

“Yeah, I could. It’s exactly what I need.”

After the second episode of Criminal Minds, Sara turned to Felicity and asked, “So, want to talk about what happened with Oliver?” She had informed Sara she would be telling Oliver today. The three of them were sitting on one of the couches, with Felicity resting her head on Sara’s shoulder. Felicity filled them in on her lunch with Oliver and the fact she had ran out on him.

Laurel was the first one to chime in. “Well, I have to say, I think you’re officially the first girl to run out on Oliver not once, but twice. Anyone else would be dying at the fact they were having his child.”

“Oh, gosh. I really hope he isn’t mad at me. Maybe I should call him and see how he’s doing?”

Just then Tommy walked in the door. He took in the scene in front of him and then said, “Oh good, you’re here,” motioning towards Felicity. He pointed at all of the wrappers and empty bags on the table, and asked, “Wait, did you guys eat all of that?”

“Can it Merlyn,” Sara responded first.

“No, it’s not judgement. I’m actually pretty impressed. You’re all so tiny.”

“Huh?” Felicity asked.

He looked back to Felicity and said, “Oliver told me.” Felicity’s eyes widened, unsure to what his reaction would be, but the smile he gave her was reassurance. “But frankly, I’m actually quite saddened I didn’t hear it from you.” To lighten the mood, he continued with, “It’s a stab through the heart Smoak.” He hit his chest with his fist, pretending to stab himself with a knife.

“Okay, now you’re just being dramatic.”

“Have you ever known me to be anything else?” he asked with a smile. He moved over to sit next to Laurel, and grabbed some sour gummies from the coffee table in front of them.

She returned his smile. “No, but I am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to tell you. I just felt that Oliver should know first. I didn’t want it getting to him before I had the chance to tell him myself.”

“I understand that. Oliver told me about lunch today. From the sounds of it, it was pretty eventful.”

Felicity groaned and covered her face with one of her hands. “Ugh, I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

“Probably not. But, it did get me thinking. You two need to talk things out and figure out what you need to do. I was thinking that it would be the perfect time to take a trip to the beach. We can rent a beach house for the weekend. You need to get out of the city, clear your heads. It’ll be great. We can leave Friday evening and come back Sunday afternoon. I already talked to Oliver about it. What do you say?”

“Oliver agreed to this?”

“Yes. He’s freaked out by this situation—I’m sure you are too, but he wants to talk about everything.”

“Okay, then, let’s do it.”

 


	5. What Happens Next? (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I apologize for the hiatus. Life kind of got in the way of that. But, I'm back. Secondly, a BIG thank you to my best friend Lo, for beta-ing this chapter (and the whole story, really). Hope you guys enjoy.

Felicity had decided to take Friday off from work in order to get ready for the weekend trip to the beach house. She would be driving over with Laurel earlier than Tommy and Oliver, so they could buy groceries and necessities for the weekend at the beach house. Tommy and Oliver would be making their way after they were done with work. Felicity was thankful for that arrangement. Even though she knew she really had to sit down and talk to Oliver about everything, the thought of spending a car ride with him, Tommy, Laurel, and Rebecca absolutely terrified her. She had just woken up and was now staring at the ceiling, finding herself contemplating her life. It was something she found herself doing a lot these days. Her hand made its way to her abdomen, something she also found herself doing a lot these days. Felicity wondered what it had been for her mother, having to raise a child on her own. She wondered if she would be able to do it by herself. She didn’t think that she would be able to. She didn’t want to do it on her own. That was why had had created her idea of her perfect future family, with both parents present in her child’s life. She really needed to talk to Oliver about the situation. They needed to figure out together what they would be doing. When curiosity got the best of her she sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard, and grabbed her tablet off the nightstand. She began searching through pregnancy websites, just to be informed, she told herself. She read article after article about what to look out for during pregnancy. Like what she could and couldn’t eat, what she could do and couldn’t do, and possible disabilities a baby could be born with. All of this only served to put her nerves more on edge. Her hand flew to her phone and dialed, she could feel her heart beat when Laurel finally picked up the phone.

Felicity didn't even give Laurel the chance to greet her before exclaiming, "My baby is going to have too many chromosomes and then it's going to end up with twelve toes! Twelve toes! I just know it."

"Hello to you, too. First off, that's unlikely. Not saying it doesn't happen, just that it probably won’t happen to your child. Secondly, why are you freaking out? Stop freaking out. Nothing is going to happen to your baby.”

“But what if—”

“No,” Laurel cut her off. “Stop thinking about this. What brought this on?”

“Well, I went online and began reading about pregnancy through the weeks, then came across an article talking about genetic counseling, and now I’m reading a blog by a mom who was pregnant with a baby who had a chromosomal abnormality.”

“Felicity, don’t read those. You’re only going to stress yourself out, and you can’t do that. Not anymore. It’s not good for you; either of you. It messes with your baby’s development.”

“What? That’s awful. How am I supposed to stay calm for the next 8 months?”

“No. I don’t think that would be possible. The difference is that you need to be able to calm yourself down when you’re upset. You can’t prevent feeling stressed, but you can learn to manage it. You have to.”

Felicity closed her eyes and scratched her head. “What am I going to do? I have no idea what I’m doing or what I’m going to do.”

“Felicity, take a deep breath.” Felicity followed her instructions before Laurel continued, “There. You’re going to be fine. Your baby is going to be fine. As long as you do what your doctor tells you.”

“I don’t even have a doctor! What kind of mom am I going to be if I’m not even taking care of the kid while it’s still inside me?!”

“Felicity!”

Felicity jumped at the volume of Laurel’s voice and stopped in her tracks.

“Stop it." Laurel took a pause. "Have you made an appointment with a doctor?”

“Um, no.”

“Well, you should do that first. And stop reading articles, they’re only going to upset you more.”

“Okay.”

“Have you eaten yet?”

“Uh, no.”

“Do yourself a favor and eat breakfast. You need to start making meals a priority. You need to start making sure you’re feeding yourself correctly. There are two of you now. There’s a life inside of you and for the next however many months, you’re in charge of making sure it grows to its full potential inside of you.”

Laurel’s words resonated with her. They left her in awe. There was a life inside of her. There was a person. It wasn’t much at the moment, but it was going to be a little person. And then she saw it. She saw a little girl, with dirty blonde pigtails and blue eyes. She was smiling, causing the dimples she had seen on Oliver that night, to come out.

Taken by the emotion of that vision, Felicity choked out, “I’m going to go.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours. Go get ready.”

They hung up and Felicity made her way towards her kitchen to make herself breakfast. While she was waiting for her meal to finish cooking, she decided to overcome her avoidance and made an appointment with a doctor for a week and a half out. She could finally check that off the list. That was one step towards motherhood. Her hand came to rest on her abdomen again. “I have so much to learn, but I promise I won’t let you down. At least I’ll try not to.” Her mom’s face and encouraging words came into her mind at that moment. Felicity picked up her phone again and dialed her mom’s phone number. But, became disappointed when she reached her mom’s voicemail.

“Um, hey mom, it’s me. Felicity, that is. But, of course you know that. I’m your only child, the only person who calls you mom." She rolled her eyes at herself. "I have something that I want to talk to you about, so could you please call me back when you get this? I, um, I love you mom.”

 

_______________

 

Felicity had just finished gathering her bags by the front door when she heard a knock. She opened the door and was immediately attacked by a small three year old.

“Auntie Fessissity!” Rebecca wrapped her tiny little arms around Felicity’s legs.

“Whoa.”

“Sorry about that,” Laurel said as she walked inside Felicity’s apartment. “She’s been itching to get out the house all day. It’s been hard to contain her excitement. She’s really looking forward to this weekend. She really loves her uncle Oliver.”

“Unc’e Owee makes the bess sand caswos!” Rebecca excitedly told her, lifting her small arms in the air to emphasize. “Auntie Fessissity, will you make sand caswos with us? I’m sure unc’e Owee won’t mind.”

Felicity crouched down to reach Rebecca’s eye level. “I would love to make sand castles with you.” Felicity then gave the small girl a hug.

“Are you ready to go?” Laurel asked Felicity.

“Yeah.”

“Okay, great. Wait, I have to use the bathroom. I swear, this kid just enjoys sitting on my bladder.”

When Laurel walked out of the room, Rebecca turned to Felicity and said, “Auntie Fessisity, my mommy said you might habe a baby wike her. Is thas true?”

“Um…” Felicity didn't know what to say. She turned her head towards the hallway, wishing Laurel would come out so she could avoid this conversation. She almost felt as nervous as when she told Oliver she was pregnant. And she was talking to a three year old!

Rebecca took this time to climb her way up onto Felicity’s coffee table. She reached out towards Felicity, her tiny palm cupping Felicity’s cheek. “I think yous be a good mommy. I would play with it alls the time!”

Her excitement warmed Felicity’s heart. She hugged the little girl and said, “Thank you. Now, let’s get going.”

 

_______________

 

On the drive, Felicity found herself contemplating her pregnancy. Rebecca’s words still ringing clear in her head. The sureness in her eyes, that she could be a good mom. It had left her breathless. She looked over at Laurel and asked, “So, what’s it like being pregnant? So far I haven’t had many symptoms. I’ve only been nauseous.”

“Consider yourself lucky. With Rebecca I had awful morning sickness. I couldn’t stop throwing up long enough for my body to take in any nutrients for her. I had to continuously go to the ER for them to pump nutrients into me, so she wouldn’t starve. I guess you could say she was a hell raiser from the beginning.”

“Mommy! Whas a hell waiser?” Rebecca asked from the back.

“Someone who causes a lot of trouble.”

“But, _mom-eee_ , do I cause twouble?” Her bottom lip stuck out in an adorable pout.

“Not all the time, baby.”

The kid had an incredible bounce back. “Okay!” She went back to drinking out of her Sippy cup, staring outside her window.

“Is that how you avoid meltdowns?” Felicity asked.

“Sometimes. Don’t let her fool you. They’re not always that smooth. She’s just really excited about the beach house.”

“Hey, are you comfortable? Or do you need me to drive?”

“I’m pregnant, not immobile. I can do things for myself, like drive.”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Felicity continued to ask Laurel questions, like what giving birth was like, what would change the most from her body, and what she could expect from being pregnant. Laurel gladly gave her the information and Felicity stored it in her brain. For all her genius, she had never thought to read up on pregnancies. This was one area where she had no idea about anything. Eventually she fell asleep, only realizing so when she felt a hand shake her softly on the shoulder. She opened her eyes and found Laurel looking at her.

“Hey, just wanted to let you know we’re here.”

Felicity looked out of the window to see the dusty blue beach house. Stepping out of the car, she immediately felt the breeze, coming from the ocean. She looked around and was mesmerized by the beauty. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling better already. The last part of the car ride had let her nauseous. She went to back of the car to grab her bags and then made her way to the front door of the house. The house screamed peaceful from the outside and the inside did not disappoint. The inside was open, spacious, pristine. It was peaceful; exactly what she needed.

She dropped her bags at the bottom of the stairs, then continued to make her way towards the back of the house, where there was a large kitchen. There were no walls separating the living room, dining room, and kitchen. The rooms all flowed together into one large one. Next to the kitchen was a space where the dining room table was. She walked past the dining room table to the glass doors over looking the back. She moved to the thin white, sheer curtains that were covering her view from the ocean. She opened up the door and walked out onto the back porch, the breeze hitting her again. This was good. She was nervous for what this weekend entailed, but she the peace the ocean waves were giving her, they could possibly just make up for the nerves.

 

_______________

 

After choosing rooms and settling in, Felicity was laying on her temporary bed. Painting her nails a periwinkle color.

Laurel knocked on her door and then leaned against the doorframe. “Hey.”

Felicity looked up and said, “What’s up?”

“Just wanted to see what you were up to.”

“Well, I just finished setting in, and now I’m attempting to paint my toenails.”

“Enjoy getting to do that while you can.”

Felicity’s looked at Laurel. “What?”

Laurel took in Felicity’s reaction and backtracked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I mean, I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s too soon for that right now. Sorry.”

“Um, yeah. It’s fine.” Felicity looked for another subject and continued on with, “I wish we were staying here longer. Maybe I’ll come back another time and stay longer. We’ve only been here a few hours and I already feel so at peace. It’s great,” she said with a smile on her face.

Laurel returned her smile. “Tommy called. He said they would be here in the next thirty minutes.”

“Oh, okay.”

“All right, I’m going to get started on dinner.”

“Where’s Rebecca?” Felicity asked.

“She’s watching movies, but she’s been itching to go out to the water.”

“I can take her. If you want?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Felicity smiled, “it’ll be fun.”

“Sounds great. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

Felicity put on a pair of flip-flops and made her way to where Rebecca was, on the couch in the living room.

“Hey Rebecca, want to go out to the beach while your mommy starts on dinner?”

The little girl threw her hands in the air. “Yesss! Pwease Auntie Fessissity!”

“Okay. Put on some shoes, turn off the TV, and let’s go!”

Rebecca did as she was told and soon the two of them were out the door, waving to Laurel on their way out. Rebecca ran out to the shore, and Felicity had to take into a sprint in order to catch up with her. How Rebecca’s tiny legs could take her so far in so little time, was beyond Felicity. When she finally caught up with her at the edge, she picked her up her little body from behind and twirled around. Rebecca giggled uncontrollably, and Felicity found herself unable to contain her own laughter. Felicity then put Rebecca down, and held her tiny hand. The two of them, then ran towards the water, ready to take on the wave that was coming.

 

_______________ 

 

Oliver thanked the universe when what seemed like the longest week of his life was finally over. He quickly made his way back to the mansion, where he lived with his father, mother, and younger sister (he had never really seen a reason to move out), so he could get packed up for the weekend. He was supposed to pick up Tommy from his house so they could then drive out the beach house Tommy had rented out for the weekend, together. When he finally had his duffle bag packed, he made his way downstairs. Rounding one of the corners in the hallway, he ran into his sister Thea.

She looked at him and asked, “Are you leaving?”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I’m leaving for the weekend, but I’ll be back Sunday evening.”

“Where are you going?” She appeared genuinely curious. That was just who Thea was.

“Um, the coast. Tommy thought it would be nice to get away and so he rented a beach house for the weekend. It’s been, um, it’s been a tough week.”

Oliver saw the curiosity in her eyes change to concern. “Anything you’d like to talk about?”

Oliver floundered for a second. He had always shared his life with Thea, but he wasn’t ready to tell his family about his most recent revelations. He knew that he would eventually, once he finally spoke to Felicity, but today was not that day. “No.”

“Okay, well, if you ever get to the point where you do want to talk about it, I’m here for you.” Thea reached up to wrap her arms around him.

He returned the hug and said, “Thank you Speedy. I’ll see you later.” He left and made his way to Tommy’s.

The car ride to the beach house itself was spent with the two of them reminiscing about their old days. Memories that still brought laughter and smiles to their faces. However, curiosity got the best of Oliver and he itched to ask Tommy something that had been in his mind since Felicity had first told him about the pregnancy.

“So, Tommy . . . what’s . . .  what’s it like . . .” He cleared his throat. “What’s it like being a dad?”

“Things you never thought you’d ask, huh?” Tommy looked over at him.

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t think I’d ever really thought about being in this situation. I mean, when I was younger and screwing around, I knew it as a possibility. But, I had never really thought about it. And, now that I’m older, I’ve actually spent time being careful, making sure to cover my tracks. I always said that I never wanted that life. And now that it’s here, in front of me, I feel so out of my element. But, at the same time, I find myself wanting that life.”

Tommy stared at him for a few seconds. Unsure how to follow up on that admission, he just said, “Wow, um. Wow. Okay. That was not what I thought you were going to say. Huh.” Tommy looked out the window pensively, choosing his next words wisely. “When I first found out Laurel was pregnant with Rebecca, I was ecstatic. I can’t explain or put into words what I was feeling. Just a lot of joy. We had just been married for a few months. It definitely happened sooner than we thought it would, but it was a brand new life. Made from both of us. I already loved Laurel, but now, there was going to be an addition to our little family we had began. There was going to be a mini me. And, I know that sounds a little selfish and maybe egotistical, but it was exciting. And, everyday as Rebecca grows, I get to see more and more of the person she’s going to be. She’s beginning to develop personality traits and mannerisms that are a little like Laurel and a little like me, and some completely her own.

“I feel beyond lucky. She’s my greatest accomplishment. There is no feeling like being a dad. My entire world changed when she came into this world. I can’t describe it more than that. It’s also added a new level of love and appreciation for Laurel and I. I have so much more respect and admiration for her. I know you and Felicity, this wasn’t something that was planned out. I know this wasn’t something either of you really wanted, but I think the two of you have the ability to make the most of it. I think the two of you would be great partners. And, if you want this, go for it. For what its worth, I think you’d be a really great dad.”

Oliver let those words sink in. Tommy had always been there for him. He was always ready to offer advice, even when it wasn’t the best. Like when they decided to skip a week of classes to yacht around Greece with models. That resulted in Oliver being kicked out of school. That did not go over well with his parents.

Tommy took him out of his thoughts, “Yep, I can definitely cross this off the list of conversations I never thought I’d have with Oliver Queen.”

That managed to make Oliver laugh. “Yes, that’s true.”

They spent the rest of the drive talking about other topics. When they arrived to the beach house, the sun was setting over the horizon, creating a beautiful orange color in the sky. They walked in and found Laurel in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Tommy went to her immediately, wrapping his arms around her from behind, embracing her swollen stomach. He gave her a kiss on her cheek and asked, “How are you and baby Merlyn number two doing?”

Laurel smiled. “We’re doing well.” She turned around to look at both of them. “How was the drive?”

“Tiring,” Tommy answered. “What can I do to help?”

“The salad still needs to be put together and the table needs to be set.” She looked at Oliver and said, “She’s out back.”

Oliver had been attempting to inconspicuously look for Felicity. Oliver looked at Laurel, like he had been caught and said, “Oh, um, thanks.” He then made his way out to the back. What he saw managed to take his breath away. He found Felicity and Rebecca further out, sitting on the sand next to the water. Rebecca was leaning back on Felicity as they stared at the sunset. Felicity was pointing out to it. He briefly wondered if this was how it would be for them and their child. Would she be doing this with their child, too? He decided against disturbing them and went back inside. He had all weekend to talk to her. He wouldn’t disturb her now. He just hoped this time she wouldn’t run out like the last time. He walked back inside the house, where Tommy was cutting up items for the salad and Laurel was sitting down.

“Did you talk to her?” Tommy asked.

“No, she’s out there with Rebecca. I don’t want to disturb them. They seem like they’re enjoying themselves. I’m going to get settled in.”

“Okay, we’ll let you know when dinner is ready.”

“Thanks.” He went up the stairs and found a room that didn’t appear to have been claimed. The room had a window that had a direct view to the ocean.

  

_______________

 

Twenty minutes later, they were all seated at the dinner table. No one was talking, serving themselves. The tension was palpable and the only one oblivious to it was Rebecca, who was happily eating her pasta. Tommy attempted to clear the tension in the air. If there was one person you could count on to try, it was Tommy.

“So, how was everyone’s week?” he attempted. “I know it’s been a pretty big one for half this table. That’s crazy, right?” He took his glass of wine and took a hearty sip.

Three pairs of eyes turned to him. Laurel cupped his cheek in her palm. “Honey, maybe we shouldn’t talk about that right now. It’s not really our place.”

Tommy looked at Felicity and Oliver. “Are you two going to talk about it?”

Oliver looked at Felicity.

“Uh,” Felicity began, but was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. She took it out of her pocket and saw it was her mom. “I have to take this.” She got up from the table and trekked up the stairs to her room, hitting accept on her phone.

“Hello?”

“Baby girl! Hi! I was so excited when I saw you had called me, but you sounded so sad in your message. This is the first chance I’ve had to give you a call. What’s going on?”

By the time her mom finished, Felicity had closed the door to her room. She leaned against it, before speaking. “I have some news. I mean, knowing you, I think you’re going to be overly ecstatic. Especially with some of the circumstances surrounding this situation.”

“Felicity, what are you talking about?”

“Mom, I'm pregnant.”

“You’re . . . what?”

“I’m pregnant. Like you know, with child. Bun in the oven. I had sex and now there’s a baby inside of me."

“Felicity, I know what it means. I may not be as smart as you, but I know what pregnant means. I guess what I’m asking is, how?”

“Mom, I just told you. I had sex.”

“Felicity! Knock it off. This is serious.”

“I know, I know. A few weeks ago, seven weeks to be exact, I went on a date-not-really-a-date date with one of Sara’s friends. She convinced me to go on it.” She shook her head. “I should’ve just said no. Well, there was drinking involved, then we had sex, and now I’m pregnant. Pretty accurate description, if I do say so myself.”

“Who’s the father?”

“I’m not ready to divulge that information.”

“Seriously? I birthed you.”

“I know, but mom, I’m still trying to figure things out.”

“Do you know what you’re going to do?”

Felicity laughed humorlessly. “I wish people would stop asking me that. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m trying to come up with a game plan, but it’s taking me longer than I thought.”

“Honey, being a parent doesn’t come with a game plan. It goes wrong most of the time, anyways. I’m going to be a grandma. Do I look old enough to be a grandma?”

“Really, mom? That’s what you’re worried about?”

“Well, would you prefer I bug you more about the father?”

“Nope. No mom, you don’t look old enough to be a grandma. You’ll be a young grandma. Probably one of the youngest out there.”

“That’s better. Huh, somehow I never pictured myself being a grandma. I don’t think I ever pictured you becoming a mom. You’ve always been so invested in your career. Oh, it’s going to be like when you were a baby all over again. You know how I love babies!”

“Yeah, I know. After cousin Steve had his child, you spoke baby for the entire day we were visiting his family.”

“Hey, it made that baby smile. That’s all that matters. Oh, I’m going to book a flight out to Starling City so we can start preparing things!”

“Wait, what? No mom, you don’t have to come out here.”

“Nonsense! You’re my only baby! Well, now there’s going to be a second one. My baby is having a baby. I can’t believe it.”

Felicity could hear the tears through her mom’s voice. “Yeah, I’m going to have a baby.”

“Oh, I’m booking the first available flight!”

She hung up quickly before Felicity could say anything further than, “No, mom!” 

She stared at her phone before flinging herself onto the bed, landing on her back. She draped her arm over her head and covered her eyes. Felicity heard a knock at the door and sat up to see Tommy standing in the doorway with a plate of food.

“Hey, I brought you a plate. You left before you could actually eat.”

“Thank you.”

Tommy put the plate down on the desk by the door and then made his way over to the bed. He sat down next to her and asked, “So, what’s up? Everything all right?”

“Yeah, that was just my mom. I told her . . . about everything going on.

“How did she take it?”

“Well, for one, she asked me if she looked old enough to be a grandma. Which is _so_ my mom, but, surprisingly, she took it a lot better than I thought. Although, of course, it is my mom. All she’s ever really wanted for me was to have a boyfriend, so I guess this would seal it in.”

“Hm, she seems like an interesting person.”

“You have no idea.”

“I’d really like to meet her.”

“Well, from the sound of it, you might get the chance.”

“What? We might actually get to meet Mama Smoak? I thought this moment would never come.” Tommy pretended to wipe a tear from his cheek.

Felicity groaned and fell back onto the bed. Tommy did the same—without the groaning.

“Why does it bother you?”

Leave it to Tommy to point things out. “It’s because we’re so different. I don’t know, I guess I feel like I’ve made my own life here. Well not here, in Starling. But still, I left home and never looked back. It was never my plan to go back, and I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Well, if she raised you, she can’t be that bad. I mean, she managed to raise an intelligent, wonderful, and caring individual.”

That made Felicity smile. “Thanks Tommy. You always know what to say. You’re such a good friend.”

“Well, I try.”

“He’s lucky to have had you in his life.”

“And, he’s lucky to have you in his now.”

Felicity didn’t know how to respond to that one. However, she didn't have to think any further, because at that moment, an instant rush of tiredness hit her, a yawn escaping her before she could stop it.

Tommy began to get up, patting her knee on the way. “And that is my queue to leave.”

“Sorry, I get easily exhausted these days. But, at least now I know why.”

“Have a good night Smoak. Make sure you eat that before going to sleep and rest up. Tomorrow should be an exciting day.”

“Good night.”

After Tommy left, Felicity made her way to the desk and began nibbling at the food. However, it was short lived when a wave of nausea hit and had her running to her personal bathroom. While she deposited the contents of her stomach, she barely managed to hear the knock at her bedroom door, and her name being called out. When she was done, she looked up to find Oliver standing at the door of the bathroom. Felicity stared at him.  _When had he come in?_ Ugh, this was not how she wanted him to see her. She flushed the toilet, then made her way to the sink. She turned on the faucet and splashed some water on her face. She took a cup next to the sink, grabbed some water and rinsed out her mouth. She looked back at Oliver. Questions in her eyes. 

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked. “I was walking by and heard you. I called your name, but I didn’t get an answer, so I just came in. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

She could see the genuine concern in his eyes and offered him a soft smile. “I'm fine. The smell of the food just got to me.”

“I’ve heard that happens.”

“It does. Although, it hasn’t been too awful for me. I mean, I couldn’t even tell I was pregnant for weeks. You would think that would be an indicator, but nope. Nothing.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

And there it was again. The concern in his eyes. Felicity knew he only wanted to help. She knew that deep within her bones, but she couldn’t deal with it right now. She knew it wasn’t right for her to continue pushing him away, but somehow she couldn’t stop it. “No, I’m just going to head to bed. I’m really tired.”

“Okay, well I’m here, if you need anything. I’m actually next door.”

“Oh.”

“All right, well, I guess have a good night and I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Good night.”

With a wave he walked out of her room. She began to get ready for bed and once she was snuggled in, sleep came easily.

 


	6. What Happens Next? (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally the entire weekend at the beach house was meant to be just one chapter. However, as I was writing it, it continued to get longer and longer. This resulted in three separate chapters. This is part two. It's the shortest of the three chapters.

Sun was streaming through the window when she woke up.  She felt warm, but it was due to the sunlight shining on her. She moved the comforter off of her, before moving towards the window. She opened it up to feel the ocean breeze on her face. She felt a calmness overcome her. She turned around a little too quickly and the movement became too much for her. She felt sick instantly and ran to the connecting bathroom. When she was done, she flushed the toilet, and wiped her mouth with back of her hand.

“Ugh, you have got to be kidding me.” She looked down at her abdomen and patted it with her right hand. “What are you doing to me little nugget?”

She cleaned up and then went back into the room. There was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Laurel walked in. “Hey, how are you doing?”

“Well, within the last twenty-four hours this kid has managed to make me incredibly sick. So that’s great.”

“Oh, morning sickness. Tons of fun,” Laurel said sarcastically. “Are you feeling better now? It usually passes as soon as it happens, before coming back again. It’s really random.”

“Yeah, I feel like it just kind of hit me. Before it was just nausea, now I’m actually throwing up. It’s awful.”

“Welcome to pregnancy. Saltines usually help calm your stomach down. So will ginger ale.”

“Thanks. I feel like I would be so lost without someone who’s already gone through this.”

“Hey, it’s like Sara said, you have us. No matter what. Speaking of, Sara and Nyssa will be here soon. They said they would try to make it by breakfast. Tommy is making pancakes, eggs, and bacon. It’s going to be delicious. I just came to tell you it would be ready soon.”

“Hmm, sounds good. I’ll be down in a few minutes. I’m just going to get dressed.”

“Okay, see you soon.”

Laurel left and Felicity moved to the dresser in the room, where she had put her clothes in yesterday. She got out of her PJs and changed into a pair of jean cutoff shorts and a simple black t-shirt. She slid on a pair of flip-flops.

She heard another knock at the door. She was popular this morning. “If only that had been the case in high school,” she thought out loud. “Come in.”

When the door opened, she found Sara standing in her doorway. Felicity moved into motion. She ran to her and wrapped her arms around Sara, managing to catch Sara off guard.

“Omph.” Sara wrapped her own arms around Felicity.

“Sorry, I just really missed you.”

“You act like we haven’t seen each other weeks. I literally just saw you two days ago.”

Felicity let go and looked at Sara. “I know. I Just missed you. It’s been a weird weekend so far.”

“Why? Have you talked to Oliver yet?”

Felicity avoided eye contact.

“I’ll take that as a no. Are you going to talk to him today?”

Felicity began to purposefully look at anything other than Sara.

“Seriously?!?!” Sara threw her arms up in the in air, in a questioning manner. “Isn’t that why you came here? What we all came here for? Felicity, you can’t keep ignoring him and keeping him out of the loop. It’s not fair to him.”

“But there’s not even a loop. I have nothing in the loop. How am I supposed to put him in the loop if there’s nothing there?”

“Felicity, just talk it out. Give him a chance. And, that’s all I’m going to say. Come on, Tommy’s making his famous chocolate chip, banana pancakes.”

“Are they actually famous?”

“No, he just likes to think so. We all just say it so we don’t break his spirit.”

Felicity looked at her.

“And so Laurel doesn’t beat us up.”

They made their way downstairs where they found Tommy at the stove cooking. Laurel, Rebecca, and Nyssa were at the table talking; Nyssa playing with Rebecca. Oliver was standing next to Tommy, drinking coffee, the two of them in a conversation that put smiles on their faces. Oliver looked up to see her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. She tried to look away, but found herself returning his stare. It was intense and unnerving.

She went to the island in the kitchen and poured herself some orange juice from a carafe. She took a drink and was surprised when it didn’t come back up. After the last day, she wasn’t sure how her stomach would take to anything. She looked up to find Oliver still staring at her.

“Hey,” he said in a soft voice. It sounded almost unsure.

“Hi,” she responded in a quiet voice.

She could feel Sara’s eyes on her, as she moved to sit next to her at the table.

The thing was, she didn’t know why she found it so awkward to be around Oliver. She obviously hadn’t found it awkward when they had had sex. Given that she didn’t really remember, but still. How much more intimate than that could you get? Yet, she continued to find herself avoiding him. And yes, she was already beginning to plan ways to make sure she wouldn’t find herself alone with him. She was concocting ideas as to how to monopolize Sara and Nyssa’s time. It was the first full day at the beach house. She knew this was ridiculous. The logical part of her brain was screaming this. However, the hormones her child was currently messing with had drowned that part out. Yeah, she was going to blame this on her unborn child and hormones. The whole reason they had come out here was so the two of them could talk and figure things out. And she would. She knew she would get to it this weekend. Eventually. At some point. Just not when she was starving and in dire need of food. Or trying to avoid him.

Of course, it didn’t help that he kept staring at her. She could feel his gaze burning into her skin no matter where she was. She knew he wanted to approach her, but didn’t want to push her. She was very thankful for that. He was being very nice. And, it made her want to avoid him even more than before. Because, she couldn’t handle how nice he was being when all she had been doing was leaving him hanging. Ugh, she was a mess. This was going to be a long weekend.

“Felicity!”

She was taken out of her mental ramble by Laurel. She looked around and found everyone staring at her. She looked at Laurel, specifically, before speaking, “I’m sorry, what?”

“I’ve called your name three times. I asked you what your plans for today were?”

“I hadn’t really thought much about it.” Lies. She had been thinking about how to avoid Oliver. “I think maybe read a book out on the beach. Are there any cute souvenir shops around here?”

“I’m pretty sure there are. We can drive around town after breakfast, if you want?”

She could feel Oliver’s stare on her, willing her to look at him, willing her to stay to talk to him. She could feel Sara’s stare on her, as well, willing her to just deal with this head on. But, for now, Felicity was going to ignore them and be avoidant. At least she was actively aware of her avoidance, as if that made it any better. “Yeah, I would.” She could feel Sara’s disapproving face, but chose to ignore it.

Eventually breakfast was ready and everyone was sitting around the table. Sara, Laurel, Tommy, and Oliver began sharing stories of when they were growing up. Felicity sat back eating and listening, enjoying getting to learn more about the people who had become like family to her. It was also nice to learn more about the father of her child. Of course, she had heard stories of who he was from tabloids, but those always stretched the truth. In different moments in the stories, Felicity would catch Oliver’s eyes and they would just stare at each other, before one of them turned their gaze away. The intensity was not lost on Felicity.

 

_______________

 

“Okay, which shop should we go into first?” Sara asked.

Felicity, Sara, Laurel, Nyssa, and Rebecca were getting out of the car.

“I don’t know, let’s just walk around,” Felicity suggested. “I really want to find a souvenir that says where we are.” They began making their way down the boardwalk filled with shops, and Felicity continued, “Every summer my mom would fly us out to Coast City, where my aunt lives, and she’d take me to the beach. I know how much it cost her to fly us out there, but she still managed to make it happen. And, every year, we would buy a new souvenir. Sometimes it was a refrigerator magnet, other times a key chain. It’s a tradition that I’ve managed to keep, and I know technically this baby isn’t here yet, but I’d like to think this is its first visit to the beach.”

She noticed they were no longer walking with her. She looked back to find them staring at her. “What?”

Sara spoke up, “That’s beautiful, Felicity.” She walked up to Felicity and swung an arm around her. They all resumed walking. “We are going to find the best damn souvenir.”

“Hey! Language. We have a child here,” Laurel chided.

Sara responded by laughing. “Sorry sis.”

For the next few hours, they walked through all the shops. Felicity enjoyed her time with them. This was exactly where she belonged, where she wanted to be.

 

_______________

 

“Here you go buddy,” Tommy said as he handed Oliver a beer.

The two of them were in the living room watching a baseball game.

“Thanks,” Oliver said, taking a drink of his beer.

A chime sounded and Tommy reached into his pocket. “It’s Laurel. She says they’re on their way back. Better get started on grilling those steaks then. She is not happy when she doesn’t eat on time.” Tommy got up from the couch and began making his way into the kitchen before pausing. He turned back to Oliver and said, “Don’t tell her I said that. She’d kill me.”

Oliver followed him into the kitchen. Tommy took out the steaks they had prepped earlier. “So, are you still planning on ambushing Felicity?”

Oliver scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. It’s not like I want to resort to this, but how else am I supposed to get her to talk to me? I just, I don’t know what I did to her.”

“Got her pregnant.” Oliver glared at Tommy. “Sorry, not helpful.”

“I just need her to talk to me. She’s had all this time so far to talk to me, but she keeps running.”

“Personally, I think it’s a horrible idea that’s going to blow up in your face, but it’s your funeral.”

“Thanks for the confidence.”

“Hey, I’m just going off of who I know Felicity to be. And, I don’t think this is the way.”

“Well, I don’t even know who she is, because she won’t talk to me. I mean, not to be a dick, but that’s my child, too.” Oliver paused, taking a moment for his own words to sink in. He had yet to actually call it as his child out loud.

Tommy noticed this and said, “Feels different, doesn’t it? Actually saying it out loud? Actually calling yourself a father?”

Oliver hadn’t known about the baby long. A whole forty-eight hours, tops, but he was already claiming it; because it was his. And, because of this fact, no matter what the outcome, he would be talking to Felicity when she got back to the house. He was done giving her space.

 

_______________

 

Felicity felt completely exhausted when they finally arrived back to the beach house. Another fun tidbit she was learning came with pregnancy. She was really looking forward to a nap before dinner. However, as they made their way up the front steps to the beach house, she found Oliver sitting on the porch swing. No doubt he was waiting for her. Well, it looked like she wouldn’t be getting her nap.

“Hey,” Oliver said.

“Hey,” she answered back. That was pretty much the extent of their conversations this weekend. Not that they’d done much talking before this weekend.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

Felicity looked at Sara, who gave her a pointed glare. Yeah, she would not be able to get out this one with Sara around. “Sure.”

Laurel, Sara, Nyssa, and Rebecca made their way inside the house, leaving Oliver and Felicity alone.

With Sara out of earshot, Felicity went for the easy route. “Look, I’m actually kind of tired. Shopping wiped me out. Normally that doesn’t happen to me, ‘cause I can shop. Trust me. But, this kid seriously has everything tiring me out these days. So, can we have this conversation later?”

“No.”

Oliver’s response had her jumping a little. She hadn’t been expecting that.

“Look, I just want to talk to you now and get somewhere with this. I’ve been trying to give you some space to figure things out for yourself, just like you gave me space, but you can’t keep avoiding me Felicity.”

Felicity attempted to avoid eye contact.

“The whole point of this weekend was for you and I to talk. Well, it’s almost the end of day two and we still haven’t talked.” He came to stand directly in front of her. “I just need you to talk to me. I need you to tell me something, anything. Let me know what’s going on.”

“I don’t know!” She screamed, surprising both of them. “I don’t know,” she repeated quieter. “Why can’t people stop asking me that? I have no idea what I’m going to do! I’m only twenty-five. Does anybody even know what they’re doing at this age? And, to top it off, I’m pregnant! It’s messing with my brain and my body. Everything makes me nauseous and causes me to throw up, and I’m tired all the time. All of this stuff is beginning to happen to my body and I have no control over it! So, thanks for that!”

“Hey! You were an active participant in that, too! It wasn’t just me. You were there also. Or, do you not remember?”

“No! I don’t! Why? Because we were both incredibly drunk! God!” Felicity turned away, feeling exasperated.

“Felicity, whether you like it or not, I’m going to be in your life. I’m going to be in my child’s life.”

“Are you?” the accusation in her voice was clear. It had left her lips before she could stop it.

He looked at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes. “Yes, why wouldn’t I be? I’m the father.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.” Felicity looked away.

“What? Why would you say that?” Oliver looked taken aback. “What’s going on Felicity?”

The conversation was beginning to wear on her, peeling layers to her emotions she didn’t want to deal with yet. “You know what? I’m going to go inside. I don’t think right now is the best time to continue this conversation.”

“Then when is? You’ve spent this entire time avoiding me at all costs. Barely making simple conversation with me. We’re supposed to be figuring this thing out. But, we’re half way through the weekend and we haven’t accomplished the goal!” Oliver let out a breath and closed his eyes. He rubbed his temples with his hands. When he opened his eyes he said, “Just forget it. Maybe this was useless. I’m done.” He walked around the house, heading towards the back.

Felicity closed her eyes. This was what she had been afraid of and exactly what had happened. Tears threatened to fall down, but she pushed them down. She wasn’t going to fall apart out here. She took a few calming breaths, then opened her eyes, and made her way inside. She was expecting for everyone to look at her and that was precisely what she had found. She could see the questions in their eyes. She was pretty sure they had heard the screaming match that had just occurred outside. You had to be deaf to have missed it. She attempted to smile reassuringly at them, but was sure she failed. She headed up the stairs, straight to her room. Once inside, she closed the door and allowed herself to finally break down. She moved towards the bed and lay on her side, letting the tears out.

******  
**


	7. Begin Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those of you who are still invested in this story, I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am for you. Here's the final part of the beach house weekend. Also, formatting might be a bit weird. I'm posting from my tablet and trying to get it on correctly has been a challenge. Again, thanks for your investment in this. (:

It wasn’t long before she heard a knock at the door. She didn’t respond, but still heard it open. She didn’t need to turn around to know it was Sara. She felt the bed dip and Sara lay down on the other side. Sara rubbed Felicity’s back in a comforting manner. A few minutes went by without either of them speaking.

“What’s wrong with me?” Felicity asked, letting the question linger in the air.

“That’s a question I’ve been asking myself for a long time.”

Felicity chuckled humorlessly. “Thanks.” She turned onto her back. “I don’t know why I messed this up. Now what am I going to do?” She put her hand on her lower belly. “What are we going to do?”

“Hey, Oliver will get over it. And, he hasn’t left you. He’s upset and he’s frustrated, but he’s not going to leave you alone. He’s no. the same person he was when we were kids. He doesn’t run away from responsibility like he used to. Just the simple fact he works at his family’s company shows that. You’re both going to get through this fight and then you’re going to figure all of this out together.”

“I always promised myself when I had kids, I’d be in a committed relationship, that way they wouldn’t have to experience the pain I went through as a kid. Gah! I don't even know where these emotions are coming from.”

“Felicity Smoak, I’ve never known you to back down or run away from anything, in the what? Almost full year that I’ve known you. I’ve come to know that you are one of the strongest and courageous people I know. I think you keep forgetting, but you have all of us here for you. You are not alone Felicity. We’re going to help you every step of the way. You’re fearless. You always have been—well, at least in the time I’ve known you.” Sara looked over at Felicity, who was already looking at her.

“I want you to hear the next words out of my mouth. And, really hear them. You can do this. You can do this. Don’t doubt yourself and don’t doubt Oliver. And, your child? Oh, it’s going to know love. It’s going to know that it is loved beyond a doubt. It will never feel alone and it will never doubt that it isn’t wanted. And, auntie Sara is going to spoil it like crazy.”

Felicity hadn’t realized there were tears streaming down her face. She used her hands to wipe the tears away and laughed. “Thank you Sara. You always know what to say to make me feel better.” Felicity embraced Sara in a hug. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You know what? I don’t know what you would do either.”

_______________

Tommy found Oliver sitting on the sand, staring out into the ocean.

“Hey,” Tommy spoke as he sat down next to him. “So, that was something back there.”

Oliver chuckled grimly. “Yeah, I guess.”

"Want to talk about it?”

“Not really, but I get the feeling you’re going to drag it out of me anyway.”

“You assume correctly.”

“I just feel frustrated. That was not the way I pictured our conversation going. It was like it took a life of its own. And then, she asked me if I was actually going to stick around. Like I would just run away from this. I’m not the screw-up I used to be.”

“Well, buddy, that’s because her father abandoned her and her mother when she was a little kid.”

Oliver turned to look at Tommy. “Shit. I didn’t know. Because we haven’t talked.” Oliver looked up at the sky and laughed incredulously. “This is just wonderful.” He looked back out onto the water. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It wasn’t my story to tell.”

“It all makes sense now. Still, I don’t know why she didn’t just come talk to me?”

“Maybe you should ask her.”

“Yeah, ‘cause that worked out so well the last time.”

“Hey, I told you it wouldn’t go down well.”

“Well, I didn’t think it would go down that badly.” Tommy put his hand on Oliver’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay.”

Oliver looked over at Tommy and smirked. “Is this the part of the story where we kiss?”

Tommy laughed. “No, buddy. I’m spoken for.” Tommy put his hand over his chest. “Maybe in a different lifetime.”

After a minute of silence, Oliver spoke. “Oh, man. When did our lives change so drastically?”

“I have no idea.”

As if to drive that change home, they heard a scream, becoming louder as it got closer. They turned to see Rebecca running towards them.

“Daddy!” Rebecca yelled out.

“That’s you, “ Oliver said.

“And, soon to be you,” Tommy responded.

“Yeah.” Oliver was mesmerized by Tommy’s statement. Suddenly, he could picture his own child calling him “dad,” and running up towards him. “Never thought that would happen.”

Rebecca then came crashing into Tommy.

“Hey munchkin,” Tommy greeted as he pulled her to sit on his lap. “What’s going on?”

“Mommy says yous needs to go helps wit dinnaws.” A little crease on her forehead showed the amount of concentration she was using to remember this.

“Okay, sounds good.” Tommy looked over at Oliver. “You good?”

“Yeah, go ahead.” He looked over to Rebecca. “Hey, how about we build some sandcastles?”

Rebecca clapped her hands in joy. “Yeah!”

“Okay, let’s go grab supplies.”

Oliver took a hold of Rebecca’s hand and the three of them began making their way towards the house.

_______________

Felicity had ended taking a nap. The day’s events had completely wiped her out. However, when she woke up, she saw that Sara was no longer in the room. After their heart to heart, the two of them had stayed talking about the most random things. It was something Felicity enjoyed about their friendship; their ability to make conversation over the most trivial things. Felicity felt refreshed, but struggled to fully wake up. She made her way towards the bathroom to check out the damage. She found herself with red puffy eyes and her ponytail completely disheveled. She took the tie out of her hair, and ran her fingers through her hair a couple of times, opting to leave it down. She washed her face, but didn’t do much, because she really didn’t care a whole lot about everyone knowing she had been crying. Well, at least right now she didn’t.

She walked over to the window, wanting to feel the ocean breeze on her face again. What she found looking outside brought a smile to her face and tugged at her heart. Down by the water, she could see Oliver building sandcastles with Rebecca. Felicity had never considered herself much of a sap. That was more her mom’s style, and Felicity did not hesitate to make fun of her for it. But, looking down at the picture displayed before her, she felt something within her shift. She smiled at that thought.

She made her way down stairs to where the others were. Laurel and Sara were preparing things for dinner. Nyssa was standing around with a glass of red wine in hand. Felicity walked over to smell the wine.

“Oh, I wish I could drink that right now, after the day I’ve had.”

“But you can’t,” Sara said.

“You’re such a buzzkill," she said sarcastically.

“That’s my job for the next few months.” Sara walked over to Felicity and bent down to be at eye level with her lower belly. Sara grabbed both sides of Felicity’s stomach and said, “Don’t worry baby, I’m going to make sure your mommy doesn’t give you anything unhealthy.”

“Thanks,” Felicity muttered.

Sara smiled brightly. “You are very welcome.”

Laurel spoke next. “How are you feeling?”

“Better. I think I’m beginning to sort out some things I wasn’t really aware were issues.”

“That’s good.”

“I’m glad,” Sara said, as she gave Felicity a hug. Felicity looked around. “So, um, where is everyone?”

Laurel tilted her head to the side before speaking. “If you’re wondering where Oliver is, he’s outside with Rebecca. Tommy is out on the back porch grilling.”

“That obvious?” Felicity asked.

“Yes. Especially with everything that happened earlier.”

“I guess I’ll just talk to him later.”

“Hey,” Sara began, “I’m glad you’re taking the initiative.”

“Well, I messed up, so I have to.”

“Yeah, you did.”

Felicity cocked her head at Sara. “I can always count on you to be the voice of truth.”

“Yes, you can.”

Laurel came up to Felicity with a serving plate in hand. “Hey, would you mind taking this out to Tommy? He needs a plate to put the steaks when they’re done.”

“Yeah, sure.” Felicity grabbed the plate, and then headed outside.

“Hey,” Tommy said as she reached him.

“Laurel said you needed a plate?”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks. How are you doing?”

“I’m better. How is he doing?”

“He’s better.”

“Good, I’m glad.” Felicity fumbled with the hem of her shirt. “I shouldn’t have overreacted. Since I found out I was pregnant, I’ve been afraid Oliver would just leave my baby. Like, my dad left us. Which I know wasn’t fair for me to do. I was afraid he would run away from the responsibility, because it’s not like he planned on this happening. I don’t know how things are going to turn out. I let my fears get the best of me, but I’m trying to learn.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you realize that now.”

“Yeah, Sara helped with that.”

“Hey, you guys will figure it out. You will and things will work out. And, Oliver? He’ll get over this. He won’t hold it against you. That’s not the kind of person he is.”

Felicity looked out towards the ocean, where she could see Oliver and Rebecca playing far ways out. “Rebecca really seems to love Oliver.”

“Oh, yeah. He fascinates her. That’s her uncle Ollie. She just adores him.”

“He seems to be really good with her. Well, at least from what I can see here. And, when I was up in my bedroom.”

“Stalking him now? First you were trying to avoid him, and now you’ve resorted to this? What is going on with you?” Tommy teased Felicity.

“I wasn’t stalking him,” Felicity defended herself. “I looked out my window and he happened to be down there playing with Rebecca. I mean, they’re still building sand castles. He has a better attention span for kids than I do. I don’t know if I could entertain them for that long. You can’t really sit there and talk about processors with kids. They wouldn’t understand it. That’s where I struggle with children, but he, it just seems to flow naturally.”

“Yeah, Ollie’s always been good with Rebecca. It just came naturally to him to fill the role of uncle in her life. That’s why Laurel and I chose him to be Rebecca’s godfather. He’s always thought that he would never be able to fill this role of a father, but he’s better at it than he gives himself credit for. Just because he’s not Rebecca’s father, doesn’t mean he hasn’cared for her like one. Oliver is going to be a great dad. I can see that. It’s freaking him out, but he wants this Felicity. He definitely wants it. So leave your fear behind that he’s going to run away like your dad, because I don’t see him doing that. From what he’s expressed to me so far, he will never leave you guys.”

“Does he pay you to be his number one fan?” Felicity jokingly asked.

Tommy chuckled. “No, but at this point, I should be charging him for it.”

“Thank you, Tommy. I needed this conversation.”

“That’s what I’m here for. Now, I can take cash or credit, but definitely not check. Not risking that bouncing.”

“Oh, gosh.”

Tommy checked the steaks again and deemed them ready. “Hey, help me take these back into the house?”

“Yeah.” The two of them cleared up all the stuff around the grill, along with the steaks, and made their way back into the house. There they found Nyssa and Sara setting up the table for dinner. Tommy went over where Laurel was cooking the pasta.

“Hey honey.” Tommy kissed Laurel. “How’s it going in here?”

“Good, it’s almost done. Someone should probably go grab Oliver and Rebecca.”

Sara looked over at Felicity. She really needed to stop trying to force her to do this stuff. However, she was surprised when Sara volunteered. “I’ll go grab them,” and walked outside.

Felicity moved closer to Laurel. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked.

Laurel turned to her. “Not really. I’m just waiting for the pasta. Thanks for asking though.”

Felicity nodded, then moved towards the table.

“You’re looking for something to occupy yourself with, aren’t you?” Nyssa asked.

It brought Felicity out of her head. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

Nyssa smiled at her and Felicity found herself returning it.

Laurel spoke then. “Okay, dinner's ready. Why don’t you guys go freshen up? Tommy and I will finish up here.”

Dinner went by better than previous meals. Felicity was done avoiding. She finally knew that. This time around, she joined in on the conversations. Throwing in little jokes, here and there. She could tell most of the table noticed the shift in her. She was no longer distancing herself. Especially Oliver. She could still feel his eyes on her, but when their eyes would meet, she no longer found questions. She now found understanding. The rest of the meal went well. Afterwards, Sara and Nyssa offered to clean up for everyone. During dinner they had decided they would play a game following.

Felicity took the time to go out onto the backyard porch, where a soft mattress had been set up to the side. She sat down on it, looking out towards the ocean. The sun was beginning to set and the string lights all around the porch had been turned on. She briefly wondered if they automatically turned on. She was lost on that thought, staring out onto the orange sky. She closed her eyes and felt the breeze, taking a deep breath. She had put on a sweater, which hung off her shoulder. She felt a slight shiver pass through her and she moved her hands to warm up her arms. She heard the door opening behind her. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. She was getting increasingly good at knowing when he was in her vicinity. Scary good. She couldn’t explain it, but she just knew. She wondered if it had anything to do with her being pregnant.

He moved to sit next to her on the mattress. A few seconds pass by in silence, before she heard him speak.

“I brought this in case you got cold,” he said as he handed her a throw blanket. “It tends to get chilly out here as it gets darker. I hope you don’t mind me coming out here. I can go inside if you want to be alone.”

“No,” she said as she put her hand on his arm, “you don’t have to go. You can stay.” She threw him a smile, which he returned. They stay silent for a few more minutes, both staring out onto the ocean.

“You know,” Felicity began, staring out into the ocean, “I never imagined that this was how I would be having a family. When I was little, my dad left my mom and I. It sucked. There’s not really another way to describe it. And, even though my mom over worked herself to make ends meet, to make sure I had everything I needed, my family never really felt… whole. So, I started creating this idea of what my own family would be like one day. I’d have gotten myself settled in my career. I’d be happily married. Then, when my husband and I finally decided, we would make our family of two into a three.” She stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, letting it sink in, before she began speaking again. “But, I guess life doesn’t always work the way you want it to. After I freaked out on you at the restaurant and left, I just walked around the city, trying to clear my head.”

She cleared her throat. “As I was walking, I passed this boutique, and this teddy bear caught my attention from the window display. I just stopped. After my dad left, things were rough and I missed him a lot. My mom knew I was struggling to cope with it. One day, she came home with this cream colored teddy bear. She told me my dad had mailed it from wherever he was, and that he loved me and missed me. But I knew she was lying.” Felicity shook her head and wiped away tears that had fallen down her cheeks. “I knew she had bought it to comfort me. And, that’s when I knew I wanted this. This definitely wasn’t the way I had been planning, but I’m going to do it. And, I would love it if you were there with me, every step of the way.” She turned to look at him before continuing, “It’s not going to be easy, and we don’t know really each other, but if you’re in, I’m in.”

Oliver looked at her for a few seconds, truly taking in all she had shared, before reaching out for her hand, in support, and saying, “I’m in.”

Some time later, Tommy came out to let them know they were ready to begin. At that point, Felicity and Oliver had fallen into conversation. It was very reminiscent of the night of their date. The three of them made their way inside where the girls were sitting around the living room, ready to begin a game of charades.

“Okay, we’re going to be in teams of three. Smoak, you’re mine,” Sara announced.

“Okay,” Felicity responded.

“I pick you buddy,” Tommy said, laying a hand on Oliver’s shoulder.

“Sounds good,” Oliver said.

“I guess that leaves you and me, Nyssa,” Laurel said.

Nyssa grinned. “You ready to kick everyone’s butt?”

“Oh, yes.”

They spent the next few hours playing, attempting to guess what each was acting out.

“What?!” Tommy exclaimed as Oliver got up from the floor. “How is that supposed to be cooking?!”

“I was mixing things! In a mixing bowl!” 

"On the floor?!"

“All right,” Sara began, “no need to get all upset, just because you’re losing.” Sara looked at the notepad in front of her. “By 50 points. Ouch.”

“I think we should call it a game. Before more words are exchanged,” Laurel suggested.

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Sara picked up the notepad and calculated the scores. “Okay, well, it looks like Laurel and Nyssa won. Felicity and I are in second, and Tommy and Oliver are last. Sorry guys.”

“Yes!” Laurel stood up to give Nyssa a high five.

“I told you we would win,” Nyssa said, with smile on her face.

Sara gave Nyssa a pout.

“Sorry babe,” Nyssa said, then proceeded to kiss her.

“It’s okay, I still get to take you to bed.”

The rest of the group laughed, then began to clean up the living room. Eventually everyone said their goodnights and made their way to their rooms. Oliver walked alongside Felicity up the stairs and towards her room.

“Okay, well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep well.” Oliver said, not breaking eye contact with her.

Neither of them made a move to leave.

Felicity felt a smile spread over her. “Hey, do you want to see what the baby looks like right now?”

“You can do that?”

“Well, it’s not going to actually be this baby,” she said, pointing at her stomach. “Just a picture of what it would look like.” She began making her way inside her room, leaving the door open for Oliver to come in. She moved to her nightstand picking up her tablet as she spoke, “There’s this website—well, there’s a bunch of them, really—that show you what the baby looks like at every week. It’s really cool. Just don’t look up different stuff, ‘cause you’ll just get sucked into a bunch of websites that will only freak you out.” She sat on her bed, leaning her back against the headboard. She patted the space next to her on the bed, signaling for him to join her. “Come on.”

Oliver made his way over to sit next to her, also reclining his back against the headboard. Felicity handed Oliver her tablet. What he saw knocked him down a little.

“That’s what it looks like?” he asked.

Felicity’s smile grew wide. “Yeah, I mean, I know it looks weird. At first I was grossed out by it, but now it’s kind of growing on me. And,” she said as she scrolled the page down for him, “it’s currently the size of a blueberry.”

“Seriously? That’s so small.” He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen before him.

“Yeah.” She liked this camaraderie they had built in the last few hours. They had reached an understanding. The tension that had been there in the morning was gone, replaced by the beginnings of friendship.

“We made that?” Oliver asked rhetorically.

“We did. Given that while we were making that, we were both drunk and weren’t smart about things. But, nonetheless, we made that. It’s a piece of you and a piece of me. Weird, huh?” She scrunched her nose a little.

He looked up at her. “Can we do this? Actually do this parenting thing?”

“I honestly have no idea. But, like I said outside, if you’re willing to try, then so am I. Together.”

“We’re going to be parents. Fully responsible for another human life. That’s insane.”

“Hey, if Tommy can do it, then we shouldn’t have a problem.”

Oliver laughed. “Yeah, just don’t tell him that.”

_______________

She woke up the next morning feeling more peaceful than she had the entire week. Things finally didn’t feel so bleak. She had a strong sense things would turn out fine. Looking up at the ceiling, and thinking this over, she couldn’t stop the smile on her face. She thought back to the previous night. After going through more pages together, Oliver had gone to his room. Felicity had enjoyed it.

There was a knock at the door, followed by Sara opening and closing it.

“Hey,” she said as she made her way towards the bed.

“Hi,” Felicity said. Sara sat next to Felicity on the bed.

“Did you just wake up?”

“Yeah, how could you tell?” Felicity asked sarcastically.

Sara moved her hand and rumpled Felicity’s already messy bed hair. “Your hair gave you away. Now it looks better.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Also, you have awful morning breath.”

“Aghh. Sara.”

“What?” She asked innocently.

“I’m just being honest here. Why wouldn’t you want someone to be honest with you about your flaws? That’s what best friends are for. Now, come on. Baby daddy is downstairs already, and I know he’s wondering where you are, but wants to avoid the drama that went down yesterday. He’s a little weird like that.”

“Is that what we’re calling him now?”

“Oh, he’s been baby daddy since you found out you were pregnant. Only now I’m actually saying it to your face.”

“Seriously Sara?” Sara looked at her with a big smile on her face. “That sounds like the name to a TV show. I like it. I think I’ll get one of those teenage boys from my apartment complex to start filming me. They always stare at me. They think I don’t see them, but I do.”

Felicity got up from bed and made her way to the bathroom. “So what are your plans for the day?”

“I’m not sure yet. I know Nyssa wants to head back soon since she has work early tomorrow.”

“I might ride back with you two.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you could ride with, I don’t know, Oliver?”

Felicity spit out the toothpaste from brushing her teeth. “What?”

“I know he brought his own car here. I think it’d be good for the two of you to spend some time together. Get to know each other. You know? Now that the two of you are on speaking terms.”

Felicity stared at her for a moment before returning to brushing her teeth. She mulled over the idea while rinsing.

“I can hear you thinking about it from here.”

She spit out the water. “You suck,” Felicity said as she stuck her tongue out at her.

Sara walked over to the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe. “Hey, it’s just a thought.”

“I know.”

"You know, maybe this could actually be the start to a relationship between you two," Sara said casually.

Felicity looked at her then said, "I'm going to stop you right there. Oliver and I are not going to be in a relationship. You already tried that and look at what happened. Just because we're going to have a baby together, doesn't mean we have to be together. I mean, there's many people who have children together and aren't in a relationship."

Sara pressed her lips together and Felicity knew she wanted to say more. Instead she responded with a simple "Okay."

"Now, I'm going to get dressed and then we're going to eat breakfast. Because now I'm hungry and if there's one thing I'm learning is to eat right away. Little nugget does not like waiting."

"Is that what you're calling it?" Sara asked.

Felicity smiled, "Yeah. I don't know, it just kind of stuck."

Sara returned the smile. "I like it." She moved forward and spoke to Felicity's lower stomach. "Hi little nugget. Let's go get you some food."

_______________

At breakfast, the mood seemed lighter between everyone. Even more so than dinner the previous night. Felicity looked down at her mostly eaten plate, when a wave of nausea hit. She moved her hand to her mouth and mumbled an excuse. She got up from the table and ran out the back door, needing fresh air. A few seconds later she heard the door open and found Oliver walking towards her with a cup of water.

"Here, I thought this might help."

Felicity smiled softly at him before taking a drink of water. "Thank you. I'm still getting used to that happening."

"Feeling any better?"

"A little. The fresh air helps."

"That's good." Felicity put her hand on Oliver's arm. "Wow. You're very muscular." She gripped his bicep, feeling it. "Huh, how did I not notice that before? Sorry, not the point I was trying to make."

Oliver smirked at her.

She cleared her throat before speaking again, "I wanted to say thank you. I haven't been the best at this, but I really appreciate all you've done."

"You're welcome. And thank you, for opening up a bit." They continued to smile at each other for a little bit longer, before Felicity remembered where her hand was, and removed it. “Sorry about that. So, yeah, thank you.”

After staring at each other for a few more seconds, Felicity said, “I think we should head back inside.”

“Yeah.” They both moved towards the house to join the rest of the group. But, before they reached the door, Oliver stopped her.

"Hey, so um," he began, but paused.

Felicity turned around to look at him. She smiled at him, hoping it would encourage him to continue. "Yeah?" she asked.

He chuckled. "I was wondering if you wanted to drive back to Starling? With me?"

That was not what she had thought he would say. She blinked a couple of times before a thought crossed her mind. She narrowed her eyes. "Did Sara put you up to this?"

"What? No," he answered quickly. Too quickly. He rubbed the back of his neck.

She shot him an "Oh really?" look.

"Okay, fine. She did. But, I think it's a good idea. I would like to, if you want to." He began to shuffle on his feet, looking down.

"Okay," she found herself saying.

"Really?"

"Yeah. We were just talking about it last night. The fact that we don't really know each other. This is a good opportunity to do that."

"Okay, cool." He smiled at her, and it caused her stomach to flutter. She quickly pushed that down.

She cleared her throat and said, "All right, I'm going to go inside." She went back inside and attempted to not think about the flutters that had taken over her stomach.

_______________

They continued on with their day. Felicity, Sara, Nyssa, and Rebecca went outside by the water. Tommy and Oliver had decided to see if there was a game on TV—who were they kidding? There was always a game on. And Laurel had decided to take a nap. It was here that Felicity now found herself. She played with the sand in her hands. Sara was currently chasing Rebecca in the water.

"Do you ever think about it?" Felicity inquired, looking over at Nyssa.

"Think about what?" Nyssa asked.

"Kids. A family. Marriage."

"Yes, I have. A lot. I've actually been meaning to talk to you about something."

Felicity turned to look at her. "What is it?"

Nyssa appeared nervous. She looked over to where Sara was, making sure she wouldn't be heard, before looking back to Felicity. "I'm going to ask Sara to marry me."

"WHAT?!" Felicity gasped. She quickly looked over to where Sara and Rebecca were still playing, making sure they hadn't heard the commotion she had made. Sure turned back to look at Nyssa and whispered, "You're serious? You're really going to do it?"

"Yes. I've never been more sure of anything in my life. There's no one I would rather spend their rest of my life with. I can't picture my life with anyone else."

"Awww," Felicity said shoulder bumping Nyssa. "You're such a sap. But a good one. I'm happy floor you two. You're two of my best friends. My friends are getting married to each other. This is so great!"

Nyssa laughed. "She has to say yes first."

"I don't knows why she wouldn't. It's going to be really good. Do you know how you're going to do it?"

"No, I'm still trying to get logistics down. But, when I do, I'm going to need your help."

"And I will be all yours to help."

"Thank you Felicity. It means a lot."

Felicity reached out her hand to Nyssa's. "Hey, we're like family. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you guys."

"The same goes for me. That includes the little bug you have in you." Nyssa reached over to touch Felicity's stomach.

Felicity laughed. "Good, I'm glad. This baby is going to need its aunt Nyssa to show it how to defend itself from mean people."

"Oh, the baby will not need to worry about that. I'll personally teach that person a lesson."

"I think I'm starting to get used to the idea that this is really happening. And, i know it's only been a few days, but i feel the excitement growing in me. I'm getting excited. I'm getting attached to this little nugget that's only the size of a blueberry. I mean, how crazy is that?! I've only known about this for a few days, but already I couldn't picture my life without it. I think that's what this weekend had helped me realize." She paused. "It's also helped me realize I can't shut Oliver out. So, I guess that's a plus?"

"Figuring things out about yourself that you didn't before is always good. It means you're growing. Or at least that's what people have told me. I don't know if I believe them yet."

They continued to talk before deciding it was time to head back to the house to pack and head back to the city.

_______________

“Okay,” Felicity began, as soon as she was buckled in Oliver's car, “I’m warning you now, I will probably fall asleep. Or make you stop a lot, because lately I just have to pee a lot. Just thought I should get that out of the way.”

Oliver nodded, starting the car, then said, “Good to know.”

They stayed quiet as Oliver began making his way to the main road. It wasn’t until they were on the freeway heading back to Starling City, that one of them began a conversation.

“So,” Felicity said.

“So?” Oliver questions.

“Does anyone in your family have any mental disorders?” she blurted out. It was something that had been stuck in her mind for the past few days, but since she’d been avoiding him, she hadn't been able to get it out. "I was reading this thing online, and I know I told you not to it, and Laurel told me not to do it, but I did. That's one of the things they said were important to know."

He laughed for a second, before realizing she was serious. He glanced over at her, then back at the road, answering. “No. Does yours?”

“No. Although, my aunt Cindy always said my uncle Joe was psychotic, but I just think that was because she didn’t like him. Seriously. There was this one time when they were kids and my uncle Joe had pushed her in order to get to the slide first, but then she ran after him and when they were both at the top, she pushed him down the slide. Let’s just say the ride down was not pretty.”

Oliver glanced back at her, clearly unsure of what to say. He opened his mouth, but when nothing came out, he closed it.

“Shoot. Now that just makes my whole family sound crazy. I swear we’re not that insane. That being the keyword.” She looked over at Oliver. “I’m not making this any better, am I?”

He answered honestly. “No, not at all.”

“Crap. Well, I’m really smart. So we have that good thing. At least we know our kid will be brilliant. Although, maybe not so much with your genes, since you got that D in tenth grade algebra.”

He looked over at her, surprise and confusion clear on his face.

“Hey, if it’s online, I can find it.”

_______________

Felicity opened the door to her apartment and Oliver brought in her bags, depositing them in her living room. He made his way back out, but lingered by the door. Felicity leaned against her doorframe as she spoke, “Thank you, Oliver. I’m sorry I haven’t been handling all of this better, but thank you for being there and giving me space. It means a lot.”

“Yeah. Thank you for talking to me.”

They both stood staring at each other for a few seconds too long. She didn’t know why they kept getting into these staring contests. But, she knew they should stop. His eyes continuously drew her in and she was unable to look anywhere else. She wondered if their child would have his eyes.

“I hope the baby gets your eyes,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

“What?” he asked.

She attempted to backtrack a bit. “I just mean… you have…” She paused. “Oh, whatever,” she thought. She wasn’t ashamed of the fact she thought he had beautiful eyes she always found herself lost in. He had to have been told this before. “You have really pretty eyes and I hope the baby gets them. I’m sure you get that a lot.”

With a smile on his face, he said, “Um. Compliments of my eyes, yes. Being told they hope their baby has them, no.”

She face palmed. She spoke through her hand. “You know what I mean.” When she removed her hand, she found him still smiling at her and couldn’t help the smile that formed on her own lips.

“Yeah, I know. Well, I should get going. I have to go to work tomorrow morning, and I’m sure you do too.”

“Yeah, it’s getting late and I’m ready for bed. Thank you for bringing me home Oliver.”

“You’re welcome. And, thank you Felicity, for letting me in. I'll talk to you soon.”

She nodded at him and he left. She closed the door and moved towards the kitchen to look through her fridge. She was feeling hungry again, even though she had made Oliver stop on the way home at a donut shop they had passed. She just had to have a cronut. Those things were delicious. And, she had totally called them before they were actually a thing. While rummaging through her fridge, she heard a knock at the door. She immediately thought Oliver might have come back, although she wasn’t sure why. She wondered if maybe he had accidentally left his bag when he brought hers out.

She moved towards the door, opening it when she arrived, calling out, “Did you for—”

She didn’t finish. Instead she screamed. Because standing at her door, was none other than one Donna Smoak.

She heard a squeal from her mom, before she was tackled in a hug.


	8. Oh, Mother.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mama Smoak comes to visit!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried getting this up sooner, but I got sick this week. So that put a damper on things. This one got kind of long, but I hope you enjoy. (:
> 
> As always, a thank you to my beta, Lo.

The last few days had given Felicity a sense of dejá vú. Yes, she was twenty-five and living on her own in Starling City, but having her mother stay with her had made her feel like she was a teenager again, back in Vegas, living under her mother's roof. And, she did not like it one bit. Thankfully, she had had work, where she could avoid her mother for most of the day. That still didn't help calm Felicity much, since mother had failed to yet tell her when she would be leaving. This had been the cause of Felicity's stress the last few days.

Felicity loved her mom. It was important for her that people knew that. She had a lot of respect for her mom, who had singlehandedly raised a daughter on her own, when her husband had left her. Her mom had given so much for Felicity to succeed and Felicity was thankful for that. However, the two had always struggled to connect, because they were vastly different. Felicity's mom had always reminded her that she was more like her father than her. At least Felicity's mom had stayed with her.

A knock at her office door took her out of her thoughts. She looked over to find Sara leaning against the door frame.

“Hey,” Felicity greeted.

“How is it going?” Sara asked.

“It’s been a little crazy today, but other than that it’s been good.”  

Sara came to sit in one of the chairs in front of Felicity’s desk. “How have the last few days been with your mom?”

“Ugh.” Felicity dropped her head on her desk.

“So not well?”

Felicity looked up. “Not awful, it’s just a little. . . difficult. Because my mom is. . .” she fumbled for the correct word, “my mom. I don’t know how else to put it.” Felicity had texted Sara almost immediately after her mom had surprised her by showing up at her doorstep. Sara had helped calm her down and told her to breathe through it.

“Has she still not told you when she’s leaving?”

“No!” Felicity’s volume escalated, but she lowered her voice before continuing,  “No, she hasn’t. Every time I try to bring it up, she evades the question!” She spoke quieter still. “It’s just. . . it’s just frustrating.”

“Hopefully, this will help a little. I came by because I had an idea. You know how Laurel, my dad, and I get together to have dinner every once in a while? We’re planning on getting together for dinner tomorrow and I thought you and your mom can join us. Maybe that way it’s not just the two of you? To give you somewhat of a break.”

Felicity contemplated before responding, “I’d like that. And, I think my mom would like it, too. I’ve kind of been keeping her holed up all week.”

Sara gave her a look, then paused as she appeared to weigh over a decision. Of course, being Sara, she just went with it and asked, “So, have you talked to your mom about Oliver?”

Felicity blinked a couple of times before answering, “No. She’s been asking me to meet him though.”

“So you’ve told her it’s Oliver?”

“Uhhhhh….” Felicity chewed the inside of her cheek.

“I’m taking that as a ‘No.’”

“No, I haven’t. I don’t want to. Should I?”

“That’s up to you to decide. Does Oliver know she’s here?”

“No.”

“I thought the two of you were on better terms now? When was the last time you talked to him?”

“We are. He sent me a text the other day, asking how I was doing. I responded to him, but nothing more than that.”

“Hmm… I’m going to head out, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Sara smiled, getting up and moving towards the door.

“Wait, what does that mean?”

Sara continued to smile. “Nothing. I’ll see you.”

"Sara whatever you're planning, stop,” Felicity warned.

"I'm not planning anything." With that, Sara walked out her office door.

"You better not!" Felicity yelled out after her. Felicity looked back at her work, suddenly feeling hungry. She got up and decided to head to the vending machines. Although she knew it wasn't the healthiest for the baby, it was all she could do for now. She had to start bringing snacks with her.

_______________

After returning from the weekend at the beach house, Oliver had thought over how best to tell his family about Felicity and the baby. Now that he knew they were both in it together, he knew that it was time to let them know. He had decided to invite them to a family lunch, which is where he found himself today. Except, now that he was here, he didn’t know how to begin.

“So dear, what was it you wanted to tell us?” his mother inquired.

“Well, there’s been a new situation?” he mused out loud. He was at a complete blank about how to continue, how to get it out.

“Oliver, what’s going on?” his father asked.

Oliver looked over at Thea, who was just looking at him. She reached out her hand to his, and that was all the encouragement he needed to continue. “Mom, dad, Thea, I have some news. There’s not really a great way to say this, but . . . I got someone pregnant.”

Thea squeezed his hand and he looked up at her.

“Is this what was going on last weekend?” she asked quietly.

He smiled softly at her. “Yeah, she was there at the beach house. We were. . . figuring things out.”

“What’s her name?” his dad asked him.

“Who is she?” his mom asked. "I wasn't aware you were seeing anyone right now."

Oliver looked at his parents and said, “I'm not. However, we are planning on raising the baby together. It was a one time thing." He cleared his throat. "Her name is Felicity. She’s twenty-five, has her master’s degree, and works at Merlyn Global.”

“Wait, Merlyn Global?” his mom asked. “How did you meet her?”

Oliver cleared his throat. “Sara actually set us up on a date. It didn’t turn out like either of us hoped.”

“Clearly.”

“So, this means I’m going to be an aunt?” Thea asked, hopeful.

It was difficult not to catch on to her mood. “Yeah, you are.”

“This is _so_ cool. Can I meet her?”

"I'd have to ask her first Speedy."

"Oliver, have you thought this through? Having a child will change your life forever. This isn't something you can be bailed out of like everything else."

"What are you saying, mom?"

"Are you sure it's even yours? You come from a very well known family. I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from."

"Yeah, mom I do and I have to tell you that you're wrong. Felicity is unlike anyone I've ever met. She's not interested in my name or what it could bring her. Up until a few days ago, she wasn't even sure if she wanted me in their lives."  

Robert interrupted the conversation. "Very well then. You having a child has obviously not gone as we had hoped, and it most definitely is a surprise. Nonetheless, it's already happened and there's nothing that can be done about it. Son, you appear to be invested in this and handling the situation well. For that, I couldn't be more proud."

Oliver looked at his father before turning his attention to his mom, and then to Thea. Thea and he shared a look together, knowing at this point whatever thoughts their mother still had no longer mattered. Once their father had spoken, that was the end.

"Now," his father continued, "I would really like to meet this young lady who is carrying my grandchild."

_______________  
****

When she returned home that evening she found her mom setting out dinner plates on her kitchen table.

"Hi, sweetie! I hope you don't mind, I got us dinner from that burger joint you showed me."

Felicity took in one whiff and ran towards the bathroom, the smell of the food churning her stomach. As she was leaning over the toilet, she could hear her mom coming behind her to hold her hair. When she was done, she sat back and looked up at the ceiling yelling, "Come on!" Big Belly Burger was her favorite and now the smell of it revolted her? It was unfair. She looked at her mom, "I hate this. I feel hungry all the time and then I want to throw up all the time. How did you do this?"

Donne flushed the toilet and then moved to sit next to Felicity, pulling her into her embrace. "Oh, honey, I'm not going to lie and say it was easy, because it wasn't. You were a fighter from the beginning. But, when you get to see what comes out of it, it'll all be worth it."

"Thanks mom." Felicity smiled at her. Somehow she hadn't thought her mom would've given her such an encouraging talk.

"So, when do I get to meet the boy who managed to knock up my baby girl? I never thought I would be saying that sentence. Honestly honey, I never thought you would ever have a boyfriend. I was starting to worry."

"And there she is," Felicity muttered, more to herself than to anyone. She had really thought it was going to be a touching conversation, but her mom being her mom, that wasn't going to happen.

"What?" Donna asked innocently. "Can't a girl want to meet her future son in law?"

"Mom! I already explained to you that we are not going be in a relationship. I'm not dating him. We had sex one time. That was it."

"So? I still want to meet him. I mean, my grandchild is going to have half of his genes. I need to make sure they're good genetics."

Felicity slapped her face with her hand. "Mom!" she grumbled.

"Oh, come on Felicity! You haven't even told me his name. Don't I deserve to at least know his name?"

"I'm still debating that."

"Felicity!"

"What?" she asked innocently.

Her mother looked at her for a few second before choosing to change the subject. She let out a breath then said, "I hope I'll at least get to meet him before the baby comes. Okay, come on, let's get you cleaned up and go eat dinner."

"Thanks, mom." Felicity thought about Sara’s invitation from earlier. “Hey, mom? My friends Sara and Laurel invited us over for dinner tomorrow. I thought it would be nice if we went.”

Felicity’s mom offered her a smile and said, “That would be wonderful.”

“It’ll just be them, their significant others, and their dad.”

“Is he single?”

“Mom!”

“What? You can’t blame a girl for asking.”

_______________

"Why do I feel like we're always meeting at a bar?" Tommy asked.

"Probably because we mostly meet up at bars."

"Huh, maybe we should change that. People might start thinking we're alcoholics."

"'Cause they definitely didn't think that when we were in our twenties raising hell all over town. I think the fact we're no longer going out to clubs every night is good enough."

"So, you told the family? How did dear old Moira take it?"

Oliver sighed. "How do you think?"

"At least tell me Thea was excited? I’m always right about her reactions."

"Yeah, she was. There's not much that doesn't excite her. No matter what you say, she'll find a way to spin it positively. Or at least attempt to. She wants to meet Felicity. They all do."

"Wow. This must be the first girl they're getting to meet since Laurel and you aren't even dating her."

"Yeah. So, why couldn't you meet up tomorrow?" Oliver asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Oh that's because we're having this dinner thing with Laurel's dad tomorrow night. Sara and Nyssa are going to be there. Felicity and her mom, too," Tommy mentioned, looking absentmindedly at his phone.

That caught Oliver's attention. "Wait, Felicity's mom?"

Tommy looked up. "Uh, yeah. I guess she's in town for the week. I'm guessing you didn't know that."

"No, I didn't."

"I thought the two of you were on better terms now?"

"We are." He wondered why she hadn't brought it up when he had texted her earlier in the week. It really wouldn't have taken that long to tell him her mom was in town.

"Wait, do you want to meet her mom? Am I hearing this correctly? Does Oliver Queen really want to meet someone's mother? Hold on, I feel like I need to take note of this moment. This has never happened. Usually you run for the hills at the mention of parents."

"Oh, shut up. At some point I'm going to have to meet her. She's my child's grandmother."

"This is a new Oliver. I like it."

"That's great. I'm glad," he spoke sarcastically.

“Hey, so remember when we said we were going to start a fantasy league?”

_______________

Felicity and her mom had been cleaning up from dinner when she heard a knock at the door. Quickly rinsing her hands in the kitchen sink, she moved towards the front door.

“Who could that be?” her mother asked. “It’s almost ten.”

“I don’t know.”

Felicity reached the front door, opening it to find a smiling Oliver. Her eyes went wide before quickly shutting the door in his face, catching his frown before the door closed completely.

“Felicity?” her mother questioned.

“Um, it’s just one of the neighbor’s kids.” She moved to grab a sweater from the hangers, since she was only wearing yellow pajama shorts and an oversized grey shirt. “I’ll be right back.” She opened the door and stepped outside, turning on the porch light, where Oliver was staring at her, visibly unsure of what had just occurred. “What are you doing here?” she whisper-yelled.

“I was. . .” Oliver began, but stopped. “Tommy told me your mom was in town, and I thought I would come by and meet her. It’s obvious you weren’t going to introduce us. She’s been here since Sunday night?”

Felicity rubbed her face, attempting to figure out how to get Oliver as far away from her mom as she could. “Yeah, but I don’t understand why I need to introduce the two of you. Are we at that point in—whatever this is?” she asked motioning between the two of them. “She’s going to be gone soon, is there really any point to introduce the two of you?”

“I would like to meet her.”

Felicity stared at him, not sure how to continue.

“Felicity, we’re having a child together. We’re both going to be in that child’s life. Don’t you think that at some point our families are going to have to meet?”

“Do they have to?” Felicity asked.

“I told my family about you and the baby. They want to meet you.”

“You did what?” she yelled. “Oh, my God. I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Did you really expect we were going to make it through nine months without any interactions with my parents? Or were you expecting to go the whole eighteen years?”

“No, obviously. I just hadn’t really put much thought into it. I’m trying not to think too far ahead, so I don’t freak out again. ‘Cause I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a repeat of this past weekend. I don't want to put my stress on the baby.”

He just looked at her. Before either of them could say anything else, the door opened behind Felicity. Her entire body tensed. "Frack."

"Felicity?" her mother called out to her.

She could tell the exact moment her mother noticed Oliver.

"Oh, who is this? He doesn't look young enough to be one of the neighbor's kids."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at Felicity.

"Oh, shut up," she told him. She turned around to face her mother. "Mom, this is Oliver—"

"Queen," her mother finished for her.

"Of course you know who he is," she muttered, shaking her head.

Oliver extended his hand to Donna. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Donna grasped it, introducing herself. "Donna Smoak. Felicity's mom. Although, a lot people tend to confuse us for sisters."

"No, they don't," Felicity piped in.

Donna ignored her and asked, "Who are you?"

Oliver looked at Felicity questioning and challenging all at once.

"Ummmm.... Oliver is... he's um..."

She didn't have to continue any further.

"Oh my goodness!" Donna looked between the two of them. She pointed back and forth between Oliver and Felicity.

FelIcity closed her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck with her hands.

"You're the one who got my baby pregnant!"

Felicity noticed the tone of voice she used, making it seem like she had just discovered the missing vowel on The Wheel of Fortune.

When Donna began clapping, Felicity looked up and said, “Oh, God. Can the ground please swallow me whole right now?”

Donna looked at her, and lightly tapped her on the shoulder. “Felicity, knock it off.” She looked at Oliver and continued, “It’s a real pleasure to meet you. I’ve been trying to get Felicity here to tell me more about you. Like who you were, but I think she was going to try to go the entire child’s life without allowing us to meet.”

“Trust me, I tried,” Felicity butted in.

“Would you like to come inside? Felicity and I were just cleaning up from dinner, but I got her favorite dessert, maybe you could join us?”

“Mom, I’m sure there are other—” Felicity began, yet was interrupted once again.

“Sure, I’d love to,” Oliver responded.

“Come on in.” Donna opened the door, allowing Oliver to go inside, then going in after him, leaving Felicity out on the porch.

“Yeah, sure mom, invite whoever you want inside _my_ home,” Felicity spoke out loud to herself.

She made her way inside the apartment where her was already in full host mode, serving dessert on the kitchen counter.

“Now, at one of the casinos I worked at, the restaurant had this dessert that Felicity absolutely adored as a little kid. It was a baked cookie with a scoop of ice cream on top. Oh, she would just jump for joy whenever I got her one of those.”

Oliver was standing next to her mom, listening to her story.

Felicity made her way over to stand in front of the counter. She looked between him and her mom, finding Oliver smiling that incredible smile of his. He appeared genuinely interested in what her mom was telling him, and that did things to her. She looked away, clearing her head from those thoughts.

"All right, now my daughter here has avoided telling me exactly how this all happened, other than the basics." She sent pointed look at Felicity.

"What? I told you how it happened."

"You 'just had sex,' does not count."

Oliver looked at her, pointing at her mother. "That's what you told her?"

"It's the _truth_!"

"Oh, Oliver!" Donna got both of their attention. "Felicity's friends invited us to dinner tomorrow night."

Felicity knew exactly what was about to happen, but didn't know how to stop it. "Mom, I don't think—"

"Would you like to go with us?"

Oliver looked directly at Felicity, and then turned to Donna. "I would love to."

Donna looked over at Felicity and asked, "You don't think your friends would mind, do you?"

Oliver spoke before she could. "They shouldn't. They're my friends, too. That’s actually how Felicity and I met.”

“Wait, you two knew each other beforehand?”

Oliver looked at Felicity. “Is there anything about me you _actually_ told your mom?”

Felicity attempted to smile reassuringly (attempted being the key word). “I told her you got me pregnant.”

“Seriously?”

“You know, you keep saying that.”

Oliver looked over at Donna, gaining her attention. “Ms. Smoak?”

“Please, call me Donna.”

“Okay, Donna, actually our mutual friend Sara set us up on a date, that neither of us really wanted to go on, but did just to please her. We skipped dinner and went straight to a nightclub where we drank a lot of alcohol. Then, we came back here and continued to drink. We woke up the next morning with no recollection of what had happened and that is exactly what happened the night your grandchild was conceived.”

“Well, there’s that,” Felicity said. **  
**

Donna blinked a couple of times, then said, “Oh, okay. No worries. I’ve had my fair share of one night stands.”

Felicity covered her face with her hand. “Oh, God, please kill me now,” she murmured.

_______________

The awkwardness dissipated somewhat as the night continued and they ate their desserts. Felicity stayed out of the conversation for the most part. Only involving herself when necessary. However, the conversation never died between Oliver and her mom. Thinking back on the night she and Oliver had gone out, she had done most of the talking. She had found it a little difficult to start a conversation with him. Yet, here he was now, easily conversing with her mom. She found that contrast odd, and at the same time endearing. She found it comforting that they were getting along well. That Oliver appeared to be welcoming her mom easily. It was something she had been worried about, and a big reason why she had avoided introducing them. It was this encounter with her mom, that caused Felicity to realize that things would be all right. Maybe having her mom here wasn’t so bad, and if she were being honest with herself, she would say that she had actually been really glad to have had her here for the last few days. She would never say that out loud, though. When Oliver finally decided it was time to leave, Felicity walked him out.

Oliver stepped onto the porch, turning back to look at her. Felicity closed the door behind her, then leaned against it.

“Thanks for that,” he said quietly. “I had fun.”

She offered him a smile. “I’m glad. I think you being the father was the best surprise I could have given her.” She shook her head, chuckling.

“Hey, your mom loves you. I know that I just met her, but the way she talked about you. You can easily tell how proud of you she is.” He reached out to touch her shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said, leaning her head onto his hand.

He gave her a shy smile. “I should go, but I guess I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.” She waved at him as he made his way towards his car, then made her way back inside.

“He seems like a good man.”

“Yeah, he does.”

“I’m glad he’s the one that got you pregnant.”

“Oh, gosh mom. Because his last name is Queen? Just because his family comes from wealth doesn’t automatically make him a good person.”

“No, silly. Come here,” she motioned for Felicity to join her on the couch. When she did, she pulled Felicity back until her head was lying on her mom’s lap, just like when she was little. She played with Felicity's hair as she spoke, “I could care less about the fact he has money. I mean it doesn’t hurt that he’ll be able to put your child through college and he’ll be able to provide so you’re not completely on your own. From what I saw tonight, he’s a very caring individual. And, that is more than I could ever ask for you.”

Felicity opened her mouth to remind her mom that they weren’t even in a relationship.

“Now, I know you already said you two are not and will not be together, but I think to have in your life. He seems like a genuine soul. That's more than I could ever ask for when it comes to you and now my grandchild."

Felicity turns and looks at her mom. This is one of the most personal conversations they have had in a long time.

"Thank you, mom. I can see that in him too. He is far too kind, even when I haven't been treating him fairly. Apparently he wasn't a good person when he was younger, so it's a good thing he's growing up now. I wonder what happened to make him change."

"Well, maybe you can ask him."

"I don't know if we're at that point yet, in whatever form of relationship we have right now. Seriously, what do you even call it?"

"I don't know. But, it certainly doesn't hurt that he has a great body."

"Mom!"

"What? You can't tell me you haven't noticed. My grandchild is going to be very good looking. Great genes on both sides. Now tell me, how is he—"

"Do _not_ finish that sentence!"

_______________

Felicity and her mom were the last ones to arrive at Laurel and Tommy’s house. Laurel opened the door for them and greeted them warmly with hugs.

“I’m so glad the two of you could make it,” she said. “And, it’s so nice to meet you,” she motioned to Felicity’s mom.

Laurel led them towards the kitchen, taking their coats and bags for them. They found Sara, Nyssa, Tommy, Oliver, and Quentin standing around the kitchen island, eating appetizers. Quentin was playing with Rebecca, who appeared to really be enjoying herself.

“Hey!” Tommy exclaimed. He walked closer to Felicity and her mom. “Is this the famous Momma Smoak?”

Felicity’s mom giggled and extended her hand. “Please, call me Donna.”

Tommy shook her hand and nodded to her. “Will do.”

“Oh, who is this?” Donna asked, kneeling down reach Rebecca at eye level.

“I’m Weh-wehbecca,” Rebecca answered.

“She’s still trying to get her ‘Rs’ down,” Tommy explained.

“Well, aren’t you the cutest.” Donna pinched Rebecca’s cheek. And then proceeded to make baby noises to her.

“Mom, mom!”

Donna looked up to Felicity. “What?”

Felicity moved to pick Donna up from the floor and whispered. “Maybe, let’s save the baby talk for your grandchild.”

“Okay, fine.”

They both straightened out, in time for Laurel to announce everything was set up and ready for dinner. Everyone began moving towards the dining room. Oliver passed by them, offering Felicity a warm smile.

When Quentin passed by Donna, she asked, “Oh, and who are you?”

“Quentin Lance,” he introduced himself, extending his hand. “I’m Laurel and Sara’s dad.”

Donna shook it, then said, “It’s very nice to meet you.” They both then made their way out of the kitchen.

Felicity saw the look in her mom’s eyes, when she passed by her.

“Oh, no,” she whispered with the look of horror on her face.

Sara walked over to stand in front of her. “Okay, what’s that look for?”

“This is not going to be good.” She grabbed Sara by the arm and continued to walk towards the dining room.

_______________

As the dinner moved forward, they found an easy way of conversation. Tommy and Laurel sat at the ends of the tables. Felicity sat next to Laurel, with Sara in front of her. Felicity’s mom sat next to her, with Quentin in front of her. And Nyssa, sat at the end, next to Tommy, with Oliver in front of her. Sara sent her looks throughout the entire night, at the conversation between her dad and her mom. It was clear they were hitting it off. When she turned towards her left, she found Tommy giving her a smirk. She rolled her eyes, then turned her attention back to the story Quentin was telling.

Laurel got up and announced she was going to get dessert from the kitchen.

Felicity spoke up—almost too quickly, “I’ll help you!”

The entire table looked at her, before Quentin and Donna resumed their conversation.

“O-kay,” Laurel answered.

Sara threw Felicity a questioning looked, then said,”I’ll come help, too.”

As the three of them made their way into the kitchen, she vaguely heard Tommy offer an excuse to leave the table. Upon entering the kitchen, Felicity moved to grab a cup of water, downing it quickly.

“Are you okay?” Sara asked her.

Felicity began fanning herself. “Maybe. I don’t know yet.” She closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt someone rub her back encouragingly. She opened her eyes to find Oliver next to her.

“What’s going on?”

She tried to offer him a reassuring smile. “Oh, you know, just freaking myself out.”

She looked around the room and found Tommy, Sara, Laurel, and Nyssa all standing around the room. When had they all gotten here? And, at some point Sara had brought her wine glass with her. That wine glass was looking really nice, but Felicity knew she couldn’t touch it. She mildly wished she could’ve at least had one last blow out with wine, before getting pregnant. Well, she thought, the night she went out with Oliver could constitute as her big blow out.

"Dude," Tommy whispered, "Quentin and your mom are _really_ hitting it off. In fact, I’m pretty sure he _is_ hitting on your mom. Can you imagine if they start dating? What if they get _married_? You three could be sisters," he says pointing between Laurel, Sara, and Felicity.

Sara already knowing the cause of her freak out said, “Tommy, you’re not helping.”

A noise came out of Felicity then. Panic rose in her and she did the first thing she could think of. She moved to grab the wine glass out Sara's hand, causing Sara to yell out, "Whoa!"

Everyone stared at her, unsure of what was occurring before them. Oliver said her name cautiously, but all Felicity did was put the cup under her nose, to breathe in the wine.

"I'm not going to drink it. I know better. Just because I can't drink it, doesn't mean I can't smell it. I'm not going to do anything stupid." She puts the glass down and looks around, asking, "Is this bad for the baby?" She sighs and puts her head in her hands. "Sorry, it's just my mom. She always manages to bring out this side of me." She looks back up.

Sara hugged her. "Hey, it's okay. Stop worrying. She's not here for long and she’s here to support you."

"And get laid while she's at it."

“Tommy,” Laurel called him, annoyed. “Not helping.”

“Yeah, I know.” Felicity closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. When she opened her eyes, she looked around and said, “Thank you, I needed this.” With a smirk she offered, “With the exception of Tommy’s comments.”

“Hey, I’m always here for you,” he said.

They all began to make their way back towards the dining room, finding Donna and Quentin getting up from the table.

“Mom?” Felicity questioned, eyebrows raised.

“Sweetie, Quentin and I are going to head out.”

“Wh-aat?” Felicity stammers.

“Quentin said there was a great little gelato shop downtown. You know how much I love that. He's going to show me around."

Donna moved Laurel and said, "Thank you for having me. Dinner was lovely." She gave her a hug, which left Laurel unsure of how to react.

"Um, you're welcome. I'm glad you could come." Laurel offered Donna a smile.

Quentin walked up to Laurel and gave her a hug, as well. "Laurel, thank you for tonight." He gave Sara a hug as well. “I’ll see you all later. Have a good night.”

Donna and Quentin moved towards the door.

Donna moved to give Felicity a hug and whispered in her ear, “Don’t wait up for me.” As she moved away, she sent a wink at Felicity.

They both exited the house and room stayed silent. No one knew what to say. Laurel and Sara stared at each other, then around the room, then at Felicity. Felicity didn’t move her gaze from the front door.

“Holy shit,” Felicity whispered, eyes wide. “We’re going to be sisters.”

_______________

After Donna and Quentin had left, Felicity had told everyone she was calling it a night and heading home. Sara had pulled Oliver aside and asked him to take Felicity home.

“I’m worried about her. I would take her home myself, but I have work in a few hours.”

Which was how Oliver now found himself sitting on Felicity’s couch. In her living room. Watching her pace back and forth in front of him. Muttering about mothers, more specifically her mother.

“I mean really?!” she yelled. “The first guy she meets here? And it has to be my friends’ father? She doesn’t even live here! I do! But does she care about that?!”

“Hey, Felicity,” he tried, slowly, to get her attention.

“No, she doesn’t! Because she’s _my_ mom. She’s Donna Smoak. Agh! Why does she do this?” Felicity threw her hand up in the air.

“Felicity . . .”

However, getting her attention failed and she progressively became louder.

“She doesn’t understand what repercussions this will have on me! I’m sure she doesn’t even care!”

“Felicity!” he yelled.

That got her attention. She jumped a little and turned to him.

“Maybe you should sit down,” he suggested. “You’re stressing yourself out and that’s not good.”

Felicity took a deep breath, then spoke. “You’re right. It’s okay, I’m okay.” She flattened out non-existent wrinkles on her dress, and chuckled a little. “This always happens to me when she’s around. I freak out so easily with her actions. It feels like I’m a teenager again in Vegas. I really need to learn not to care.”

“I don’t think it’s about whether you care or not. I think it’s about how you react to things. Why don’t we watch a movie or something? You can go get changed while I set things up in here.”

Felicity smiled at him. “Yeah, that sounds nice. Thank you.”

“I can make you some tea,” he offers. “I hear it’s good for pregnant women.”

“Where did you hear that?” she asks.

“I did some research,” he says absentmindedly, as he moved towards her kitchen to rummage through her cupboards.

She instructed him where everything was, then moved towards her bedroom to change into comfy clothes. A few minutes later, Oliver heard her come into the living room. She wasn’t in his line of vision, but he had somehow become attuned to her. Almost like he could sense where she was automatically. He tried not to think about that too much.

“Hey, so I rounded out a few options. I figured we could watch a comedy. You look like you need some laughter in your life.” He turned over to give small smirk as he spoke the last sentence, but was taken off guard by the sight of her.

Her face was clean of makeup, and she wore sweats and an oversized t-shirt. And, she was beautiful.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“What?” he asked, not having realized he had lost himself in staring at her. He cleared his throat. “No, you don’t. Come over here and pick out a movie.”

Felicity moved to sit next him on the couch. She laughed, picking up one of the movies. “Really?” she asked.

“What? I thought it might be nice to laugh about our situation,” he said, defending his choice for “ _Knocked Up_.”

She laughed a whole hearted laugh. “Okay, please put it on. I’m excited to see this. Are you saying you see yourself like Seth Rogan?”

He immediately shakes his head. “No, absolutely not. There’s no comparison there.”

She laughed again as he put the DVD into the player. When he was sitting next to her again, she grasped his hand and said, “Thank you, Oliver. For making sure I made it home and for staying with me. Also, for having a great sense of humor. It’s helping me keep my mind off of the situation.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“Hey, I don’t know if you’d be interested, but I have my first doctor’s appointment next week. I was thinking maybe you’d want to go? You don’t have to. There’s no obligation. I think it’s just going to be basic information more than anything, but there should also be a sonogram.”

He looked at her, honored that she’d invite him to that. Somehow, he hadn’t thought she’d want him there with her at the doctor’s appointments. He smiled at her. “I’d really like that.”

She returned his smile and said, “Cool.”

_______________

Towards the end of the movie, they heard the front door being unlocked. It was this noise that woke Felicity up. She looked around, not having remembered when exactly she had fallen asleep. Although, that happened a lot these days. She always found herself exhausted. Oliver had succeeded in keeping her mind off of her mom. He had been very sweet in caring for her, as well as making her laugh. But, she would definitely not think about the butterflies it caused her. She stood up, just as the door opened up. Her mom stumbled a little, then closed the door. She turned around to close it and leaned against it. Only then did her mom realize both Oliver and her were staring.

“Oh, hi. I didn’t realize you would be up.” She looked at Felicity then to Oliver. “And, I didn’t think you’d still be here. It’s close to eleven.”

“Mom, where have you been?”

“I told you, Quentin and I were going to go eat gelato.”

“For three hours?!”

“Now, Felicity, I am a consenting adult. I can do whatever I please.”

“Yeah! I know! I’ve known this for most of my life! I’ve seen it happen for most of my life!” Quieter, she continued, “But, mom. This is my life here. I’ve built a new life and I can’t have you coming in here and making a mess of it!”

Behind her, she heard Oliver say, “I’m going to go ahead and leave.” He moved towards the door, grabbing his jacket off of the hanger, and walking around Donna to open the door. With one last glance back, he said, “I’ll talk to you later Felicity. Goodnight, Donna,” and left.

Felicity rubbed her forehead with her hand. “Mom, sometimes it’s so difficult to have a relationship with you, because you just do without thinking. And most of the time I have to deal with the consequences.”

“Well, I’m sorry you feel that way. But honey, I’ve never intended to hurt you or offend you. Or, cause problems for you.” Donna moved closer to Felicity, both of them sitting on the couch together. “I’ve never wanted anything but happiness for you. Especially after your father. Maybe I didn’t go about it the best way, but I have always been there. I will continue to be there for you. Every once in a while, I feel like there was nothing from me that you got. When I look at you, I just see your dad. And, it’s hard. I think that’s a lot of the disconnect we’ve always, but I’ve always tried.”

Felicity grasped her mother’s hands in her own. “Mom, I’m so strong. I would’ve never been able to handle much of this past year if it weren’t for that. That’s something that I learned from you. You’re the strongest person I know. I will always appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But, you also need to understand there’s things that you need to do with caution. Especially because this is where I’ve begun to build my life. This is where I see myself building my home. My friends are the people that are going to be in my life for the long haul. And if you sleeping with Mr. Lance—"

"Felicity," her mother tried interrupting.

"—ends up ugly—"

"Felicity," she tried again.

"—what's going to happen to the relationships I've built?"

"Felicity," her mother said calmly. "That's exactly what Quentin and I discussed."

"What?" Felicity asked, surprised.

"I didn't sleep with him."

"What?"

"Quentin and I both decided it wouldn't be fair to any of you if we just jumped into this. So, we're going to take it slow."

Felicity chuckled a little. "Slow? Is that even in your vocabulary?"

Donna jokingly slapped Felicity on her arm.

Felicity laughed. "Sorry."

"Look, I really like him. I think this has the possibility of turning into something great. Which is why we're not going to rush into it. Plus, we want to make sure we're being cautious with everyone involved."

"Wow, I don't know what to say to that."

Donna offered her a smile. "How about, 'Mom, I'm happy for you.'"

"Okay. Mom, I'm happy for you. Thank you for really thinking about this and for putting me and my friends first."

"Oh, honey. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

After a few quiet seconds, a thought popped into her head. "Mom? I'm not sure how long you're planning on staying, but I have my first doctor's appointment next week. I'd like it if you were there."

Felicity saw tears begin to form in her mother's eyes. Her mom moved to hug her.

"I thought you'd never ask."

"Wait? Were you waiting for me to ask you?"

Donna pulled back to look at her. "Well of course. Why else did you think I was still around. I don't plan on being here forever. I do have a life to get back to in Vegas."

Felicity laughed again. "Oh, gosh, mom."


	9. Keeping Up With The Queens.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An appointment and a dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments and kudos. Much appreciated. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. (:

Felicity felt sick as soon as she woke up. She barely made it to the bathroom, before all of her contents from the previous night came out. To say she was tired of this, was an underestimate. She heard her mom come into the bathroom, asking her if she was all right.

She flushed the toilet then croaked out, “I’m fine. I think.” She turned around to look at her mom.

“Whoa,” her mom said.

“What?” Felicity asked a little dumbfounded.

“Your boobs look larger. Oh, that’s exciting! That was one of my favorite parts when I was pregnant with you.”

Felicity looked down at her chest to see that yes, her breasts were getting bigger. “Huh, when did that happen? They have been a little more tender lately, but I read that’s normal. I should probably get ready.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it. Are you excited?”

“I think so. I mean, it’ll be nice to be able to talk to the doctor about all the stuff that’s happening to me.”

“What time is Oliver picking us up?”

Felicity moved back towards her bedroom to pick up her phone. “In about half an hour.”

Oliver had offered to drive them all to their first doctor’s appointment, which Felicity had found sweet. She decided to send him a quick text, to make sure he was still driving.

 

_**Felicity: “Good morning. :) Still set to pick us up in 30?”**_

 

They had been consistently texting for the last week. Oliver had begun to make it routine to check up on her and ask her how she was doing. And even though it was incredibly sweet, she wouldn’t allow herself to think about it further than it being her child’s father checking in on it.

 

_**Oliver: “Yeah. See you soon.”** _

 

“What’s that smile on your face?” her mom asked.

“What? What smile? There’s no smile on my face,” she defended quickly. Grabbing a towel, she made her way to the bathroom. “I’m going to go shower.”

"You’re evading my question," her mother yelled out after her.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Felicity sing-songed back.

**_______________**

 

“What do you think they’ll tell us?” Felicity asked, more out loud than to anyone specific.

“They’ll let you know how your pregnancy is going. Information on what to do. Probably nothing more than that,” her mother answered.

“I feel nervous? Does everyone get this nervous? Is this normal? I mean, I know I’ve never been normal, but, I’m. . . just . . . wondering.”

Donna reached over to grab Felicity’s hand. “Honey, calm down. You have nothing to worry about. Everything will be fine.”

"Hey," Oliver began, “I don’t want to add more stress, but remember when I told you my parents wanted to meet you? Well, they wanted to know if you’d like to come to dinner tonight.”

“Felicity Smoak?”

They all heard her name being called out by a nurse, but Felicity couldn’t tear her eyes off of Oliver.

“You choose now to tell me this? Oliver, I have to say, your sense of timing is awful. Please don't let that apply to things when it comes to the baby."

“Felicity Smoak?” They hear her name being called again.

Felicity stood up, moving towards the awaiting nurse, and felt Oliver and her mom follow suit.

“That’s me. I’m Felicity. Smoak,” she said, pointing towards herself.

The nurse looked at all three of them. “And you two are?”

Donna spoke first. “I’m her mom and this, this is the father.”

“Please follow me this way.”

The nurse lead them back towards the rooms. With every step, Felicity felt herself become a little more nervous. "Are we going into some kind of dungeon? This is dark like a dungeon. You know, there was this one time I dated this guy who was into dungeons. It turned him on. Why, I have no clue. I tried it once. It wasn't for me."

Oliver raised an eyebrow at her.

"Felicity!" her mother chided.

"Right. Sorry. I'm done."

When they finally made it into the room, the nurse instructed them to take a seat.

“Huh, it’s not as scary as I thought it would be.”

“Glad to hear that,” the nurse responded to her comment. “Ms. Smoak? Would you mind changing into this?” The nurse held out a hospital gown for her. The doctor will be with you soon. Please make yourself comfortable.”

“Okay.”

The nurse made her way out of the room.

"Oliver?"

“Yeah?”

“I know you’ve already seen me naked, but can you please turn around?” Felicity asked.

A second passed with Oliver staring at her, as if processing her question, before he answered. “Oh, yeah. Of course.”

He turned around and Felicity began to undress. When she was done, she folded her own clothes and set them on the bed. “You can turn around now.” She moved to sit down while Oliver and her mom sat down on the chairs in the room. Felicity stared at the ceiling.

“What if the baby has an abnormality? I read somewhere they can check for that with blood tests. I think we could probably find out soon.”

“Felicity,” her mother began, “Stop freaking out.”

“Right, yes. I keep forgetting to actually do that.”

There was a knock at the door, followed by the doctor coming into the room.

“Hello,” the doctor greeted them. “I’m Dr. Griffin. How are you doing today?”

“Pretty great I would say. Pretty… darn… great. That’s… how I feel,” she said, with a little too much enthusiasm.

“All right,” the doctor responded, narrowing her eyes a bit. She turned to look at Donna. “You must be her mom.”

“Yes, that would be me.”

“And you are…” Dr. Griffin looked through her paperwork on the clipboard. “The boyfriend?”

Felicity shot up. “Nope! Definitely not the boyfriend. That’s not his title. At all.”  

“Okay.”

“He’s the father,” Donna stated.

“I guess you could say more like a sperm donor. Because that’s what he gave. He donated the sperm and I donated the egg. So we both gave something. Except, I’m also providing my body.”

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her.

“What?” the doctor asked, dumbfounded.

Felicity sighed heavily and took a breath before speaking. “The baby is a product of a one night stand between us.” She motioned between herself and Oliver. “We’re not dating. We had sex just once. Without protection as you can tell.”

“Huh. well, I’ve had cases like this before. Although, I have to say, it’s unusual for the father to come to these appointments. Usually it’s just the mother and whoever she has supporting her. I find it very respectable you’re here,” the doctor said to Oliver.

“Thank you,” Oliver responded.

Felicity turned to look at him and gave him a smile, which he returned before they were interrupted by the doctor.   
“Now, let’s go ahead and get started. First off, let’s take down all of your history.” She began to ask Felicity questions about her health and Felicity answered everything truthfully and honestly. When the doctor was beginning to wind down on those questions, she asked another. “Do you have any questions for me?”

“She has a lot of questions,” her mom answered.

Felicity looked at her mom for a second, then turned to look at the doctor. “Yeah, I do. I guess I’m just worried about the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities. I’ve read one too many websites where moms discuss this. I just don’t want anything to happen to the baby.”

The doctor smiled softly at her. “That is completely normal for moms to experience. Especially with a first pregnancy. I’ll be taking some blood samples today, just to do routine tests. But, if it’s really a concern for you, we can talk about doing some genetic tests to see about the chances of the baby developing anything else. How does that sound?”

Felicity smiled. “That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”

The doctor continued to inform her of what her diet should consist of. Felicity had nodded along when the doctor had told her she couldn’t consume any alcohol. She had balked when told the maximum amount of caffeine she could have per day. The doctor also took blood samples from her. Felicity had turned away, because needles? They just weren’t her thing. And, these days she queasy at just about everything. When the doctor had finally finished, she looked at both Oliver and Felicity. “Are you ready to see your baby?”

Felicity turned to look at Oliver. “Yeah,” she said, still not looking away, smiling.

Oliver smiled back at her and she could feel his excitement radiating off of him. She felt a warmness fill her. Excitement also filled her, at the fact she would finally be seeing this little nugget who had taken up root inside of her.

“Okay,” the doctor said. She began to set up the ultrasound machine.

Felicity sat back and listed to the doctor’s instructions about moving her gown, making sure she covered herself with a blanket.

“Now, this is going to be cold,” the doctor informed her as she began to put a gel on her lower abdomen. Next, the doctor put the transducer on her lower abdomen. Within seconds, the screen before them filled up. The doctor pointed to a little tiny spot on the screen. “There is your baby.”

It was unlike anything Felicity had ever seen before. Her heart filled up with so much emotion. She couldn’t describe what she was feeling exactly, but it was along the lines of the warmness she had felt earlier. She felt tears stream down her face. Tears she hadn’t even known had formed, but they weren’t tears of sadness. She knew without a doubt they weren’t that. They were tears of pure happiness, of pure awe and wonder. She turned to Oliver and saw the same wonder in his eyes. He turned to look at her, and smiled. She laughed, unable to contain the joy she felt.

“Now,” the doctor continued, “It might be too early to hear the heartbeat, but we’re going to try.” She moved the transducer around a little more and worked on the ultrasound machine. Soon, on the screen, they could see the heartbeat. In the next second, they heard a fast thumping.

Felicity let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

“There we go.” **  
**

“Is it supposed to be that fast?” Oliver asked.

“The baby’s heartbeat is showing at 175 bpm, which is normal for a fetus at nine weeks. The baby also appears to be measuring fine. You two have a healthy baby on your hands. Everything appears to be well.”

The doctor continued to speak more, but all Felicity could focus on was the screen in front of her and the sound coming out. Everything else was tuned out. She was vaguely aware of her mom conversing with the doctor and asking questions, but Felicity couldn’t tear her attention away from the screen. She felt something grab her hand and she turned to see that Oliver had taken hold of it. They were in this together. Partners. She knew that. And that brought her peace. She knew that they would be able to take this on together. They could really do this.

"I'm going to go ahead print some of these out for you."

"Can we get a bunch of copies?" Felicity asked.

The doctor laughed. "Yes, of course."

**_______________**

 

After the appointment, Oliver drove towards the airport. He had offered to drive out Donna for her flight back to Vegas. Felicity sat beside him in the passenger seat. It had been a couple of hours since they had left the doctor's office. Felicity couldn't stop staring at the pictures. The fact that this was something that was a part of her. She'd known she was pregnant—obviously—but, seeing these pictures made it _real_. That was her baby. Everything was the same, yet still different now. She could hear Oliver and her mom talking, but she wasn't aware of their conversation. She still felt in awe.

"We're here," Oliver announced.

Felicity looked up from her pictures to see they were in the airport parking lot.

"Oh," Felicity said. "You can wait here if you want. You don't have to come in with us."

"No, it's okay. I want to."

Her mom had already gotten out of the car and made her way towards the back of the car. Felicity put the pictures down and got out of the car. Oliver moved to the back, opened the trunk and got Donna's bags out. Donna moved to grab them, but Oliver didn't hand them over.

"I've got them."

"Thank you," she told him.

They all made their way inside to check her mother in. After they made their way to leave her mom at the designated terminal.

"Okay, baby. I had so much fun with you here. I'm going to miss you."

Felicity wrapped her mom in a hug. "Oh, mom. I'm going to miss you so much." Tears she hadn't noticed she had, streamed down her face. "Thank you for coming."

"I was so happy to be here. I hope to come back soon." She lay her hand on Felicity's abdomen. "Before this one is born."

"Okay mom."

Donna turned to look at Oliver and gave him a hug. "Take care of both my babies."

"I will," he answered easily.

"I'll see you two later."

 

They waited around to watch Donna's plane take off. Once it was up in the air, they made their way back to Oliver's car.

"Hey, Oliver?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for today."

"Of course."

"About dinner with your parents?" She stopped walking and reached her hand out to stop him, too. They both stood in the garage parking lot, looking at each other. "It's nerve racking because they're the Queens, but I'd really like to go."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah." She smiled at him.

He smiled back. "Thank you."

**_______________**

 

Oliver had dropped her off at her house in the early afternoon, informing her he would be back to pick her up at six-thirty. It was nearing that time now and Felicity felt her nerves wrack up with each passing minute. She was going to meet the Queens; royalty to Starling City. And she was now carrying the heir to the Queen fortune. She definitely hadn’t thought about that before. However, now that she had, it brought on a whole new wave of nerves. She heard a knock at her front door, but she stayed frozen in place. How could she not have thought about the fact her baby was going to be a Queen? How had she completely skipped that part? What did being a Queen all entail? There was a second knock on her door and it spurred her to move. She figured it was Oliver.

She opened the door to find him smiling at her. She said the first thing that she could voice after her most recent revelation. “You’re really rich.”

Oliver faltered for a second. “Yes?” He motioned, and silently asked if he could come inside her apartment. She moved to the side and allowed him to pass through.

Once she closed the door, she said quietly, “And you’re a Queen.”

“Yes. What’s going on?”

“Oh, not much just realizing that I’m pregnant with your child who will eventually inherit a multi-billion dollar company.”

“You’re just now coming to that conclusion?”

“Yeah, I’ve been a little slow on things lately.”

“Felicity, I don’t understand what’s happening right now.”

“For some reason, it just hit me that this child is going to be a Queen. I’ve seen a little of how much attention from the media your family gets and they’re not always nice. I just don’t want that for this little nugget.” She protectively put her hand on her still nonexistent belly.

Oliver came to stand directly in front of her. He put a hand on hers and attempted to reassure her. “Hey, we can work on making sure that doesn’t happen. Together.”

His words were able to calm her down and bring her peace. She registered that this has been a recurring thing. No matter the situation, lately he’s been able to help her keep calm. “Thanks,” she whispers. “We should get going. I don’t want to keep the owners of a multi-billion dollar company waiting. It’s not nice.”

“Felicity.”

“What?” she asked coyly, grabbing her coat and purse. She held the door open for him to exit, and they made their way to his car.

He chuckled as he opened the door for her. "You're just unlike anyone else I've met."

"I know," she said cockily and sent him a wink as he closed the passenger door.

They filled the car ride with small talk. Talking about whatever popped into their heads. Well, that was true at least for Felicity. When they turned down the driveway, Felicity's eyes widened.

"Whoa. You said house, not mansion."

"I mean, it's still a house."

"Crap. Am I underdressed? Should I have worn something more formal?" She began to fidget with the skirt of her dress.

"No, you're fine. Don't worry about it. Please. You look beautiful."

"Okay. Right. Don't freak out." She continued to play the hem of her dress. However, upon playing back Oliver's words in an attempt to calm her nerves, she focused on the last sentence. That, caused a whole new set of nerves.

Oliver pulled to a stop at the front of the mansion and Felicity got out of the car before he could walk around to open it for her. That wouldn't have helped her out at all. She saw the front door open and a young brunette step out. She had a bounce in her step; joyfully making her way towards Oliver. Felicity recognized her from tabloid pictures as the youngest of the Queen bunch.

“Ollie!” she called out as she gave him a hug. She turned her attention towards Felicity.

“Speedy, this is Felicity. Felicity, this is my sister Thea.”

Felicity held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you Thea. Or is it Speedy? Or is that just like a brother sister thing between you two?” She looked back and forth between the two.

Thea looked at Oliver. “I like her.” She moved closer to Felicity and gave her a hug. “It’s really nice to meet you.”

Felicity stood unmoving for a second, not quite sure what to do. She looked at Oliver with worried eyes, but she just found encouragement in his eyes. She wrapped her own arms around Thea. “Thank you.”

Thea pulled back and said, “Come on, dinner’s almost ready.” She led them into the house.

Felicity took everything in with wide eyes. “Wow. This place is so large and open. Wow.”

“Yeah, it’s nice. You get used to it after a while, though. Come on, my parents have been waiting for you to get here. They want to meet you. Badly.”

That stopped Felicity in her tracks. “What?” She tensed up. “I mean, I know that’s the point of tonight, but are you sure they want to see me right now? Maybe when dinner’s actually served, or I don’t know…” she trailed off. She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m going to meet the owners of a Fortune 500 company. All right.”

“Don’t stress yourself out too much. I don’t think of them that way. They’re just mom and dad to me.”

“Well, you grew up with them.”

“That is very accurate.” Thea continued to lead them down a corridor and into a room that looked like a large version of a sitting room. Probably the mansion version. She found Moira and Robert Queen standing by the bar. “Mom? Dad?” Thea called out.

They both turned to look at them. Robert’s face lit up with a smile upon seeing them, however, the same couldn’t be said about Moira. Felicity felt herself tense up again. Usually moms liked her. She was a good person. Everyone loved her! Okay, yeah, so maybe she was sounding a little cocky. But, was it really cockiness when it was the truth? Thea continued to lead them, until they stood in front of the Queens.

“You must be Felicity,” Robert affirmed.

“Yes, that’s me,” Felicity said.

“It’s so great to meet you.” Felicity was taken by surprise, yet again, when Robert pulled her in for a hug. “Thank you for coming to dinner.”

“Thank you for having me, Mr. Queen.”

“Please, call me Robert. You’re family now Felicity.” He motioned to Moira and introduced her. “This is Moira, my lovely wife.”

From the look on her face, lovely was the last thing Felicity felt radiating off of her. “It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Queen.” Felicity extended her hand out, knowing for a fact she wouldn’t receive the same warm welcome she had from the two other Queens. Maybe three out of four was all she would get. She could work with those odds.

Moira looked at Felicity’s outstretched hand, before taking it cautiously. “Nice to meet you, too.”

Felicity figured the Queen siblings must have felt the tension as well, since Oliver’s next word was, “ _Mom_.” However, it didn’t go further, since the maid chose at that moment to announce dinner had been served.

“Great!” Thea announced almost too cheerfully. “Let’s go eat!” She grabbed Felicity by the elbow, and hooked it into her own. “Just ignore her,” she whispered into Felicity’s ear as they made their way towards the dinning room.

They all took their seats. Robert sat at the head, with Moira and Thea at his right, and Oliver and Felicity at his left.

“So Felicity, Oliver tells me you’re working at Merlyn Global?” Robert questioned.

Felicity cleared her throat. “Yes, that’s true.”

“And what is it you do?” Moira asked, taking a sip of her wine.

“I work in the IT department, mostly overseeing our software to make sure it’s running smoothly and outsiders can’t get in.”

“Well, that’s nice,” Robert said. “Do you enjoy it?”

“Yeah, I really do.”

Moira set her glass down. “I’m assuming you’d like to advance. I have no doubt you could be successful in doing so. Especially now with this current situation. The Merlyns are good family friends, but I’m sure you knew that.”

Felicity felt speechless for a second. _Had she? Had she really just insinuated that?_   “I’m sorry, what?” ** ** **  
******

“ _Mom_ ,” Oliver warned.

“No, I want to know,” Moira pressed on. “Did you know who Oliver was beforehand?”

“Did I know? Of course I knew. Who doesn’t know of you in this town?”

“Do you plan on using the Queen name to help you out? Or what is it exactly you’re expecting out of this? It is money you want? Or are you interested in what our last name can bring you?”

“Moira!” Robert called out. “That is enough! There is absolutely no reason for your hostility.”

Felicity blinked a couple of times, feeling completely dumbfounded by what had just happened. “No, it’s fine Mr. Queen. I understand where this is coming from.”

Felicity looked down at her lap, before looking up at Moira. “With all due respect Mrs. Queen, I’m not interested whatsoever in what your last name is or the value of your bank account. In fact, I wish it wasn’t Queen and I wish you weren’t ridiculously rich. It would make my life so much easier. I’ve seen the scrutiny this family is constantly put under by the press and I don’t want any part of that. Not for me, and especially not for my child. As for money, I can assure you I’m not interested in that. At all. I can take care of my child all on my own. My mother did so and she did very well. Now, I appreciate you inviting me over for dinner, but I’ve lost my appetite, so I’m going to leave now. Thank you.” She removed her napkin from lap, got up from the table, and began making her way to the front of the house.

Oliver caught up with her before she could get her coat and purse from the housekeeper.

“Hey,” he said approaching her quietly. “I’m sorry about all of that.”

The maid returned with her things and Felicity thank her. “Look Oliver, I know you had nothing to do with it, but it kind of exhausted me, so I’d just really like to go home now.”

“I understand. At least let me give you a ride home.”

“Okay.”

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Thea walking up to them. “I’m sorry about my mom. She can be… well, let’s just say an interesting individual.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. It was really nice meeting you.”

“You, too. I hope we can meet up again soon. I’d really like to get to know you better. I mean, we are going to be in each other’s lives from now on.”

Felicity smiled at her. “I’d like that.” She looked back over at Oliver and grimaced. “So I know I said I’d lost my appetite, but I kind of lied about that. I’m hungry all the time now. Do you think maybe we could stop somewhere to grab food?”

“There’s Big Belly Burger,” Thea chimed in. When Felicity and Oliver turned to look at her, she continued, “Hey, I didn’t get to eat either. I’m hungry, too. Although, definitely not pregnant.”

“Glad to hear that,” Oliver replied sarcastically.

“Okay then, let’s go,” Felicity urged.

**_______________**

 

“Okay,” Felicity began, “I know the doctor said to make sure I eat a well rounded meal, but I’m pretty sure Big Belly Burger is going to be a constant. And, I’m pretty sure the baby agrees.”

“The baby is the size of a grape. Does it really have this much say in your diet already?” Oliver asked.

“How do you know how big the baby is?” she asked.

Oliver offered a small shrug. “I read about it online.”

“You’ve been researching?”

“Yeah, I thought it might help.”

She smiled at him, touched that he took the time to do so. He continuously surprised her. Every time, he proved he was all in. She felt bad that she had ever doubted him. But at this point, there wasn't anything she could do about it. All she could do was move forward.

“So, Felicity, Oliver told me you graduated from MIT?” Thea asked.

Felicity grabbed a fry and dipped it in her milkshake. “That’s correct.”

“What was that like? You must be like a genius.”

Felicity laughed. “Yeah, I am. My mom never really knew what to do with me growing up. So what do you do Thea? Oliver mentioned you were going to school.”

“I’m studying business. I’d really like to run a business one day. I think I really have a knack for it. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll take over the family company. Although, dad wants to start me off with an internship.”

“Wow, you’ve really got that planned out. That’s exciting. We need more female CEOs running things.”

“Very true. I like the way you see things. I’m _really_ glad my brother got you pregnant.”

Felicity wrinkled her nose.

_“Speedy!”_

Felicity looked at Oliver with raised eyebrows, then answered Thea. “Thanks?”

“What? I’m just telling it like it is. I mean seriously, the parade of women you’ve brought. It’s actually a surprise this didn’t happen sooner. But, now that it actually did happen, it’s someone who’s nothing like anyone you’ve ever been with.”  

“I’m going to go ahead and take that as a compliment,” Felicity said.

“Oh, it is. You’re so much better than any other girl he’s ever brought around. Well, except Laurel and Sara. But, they’re more like family, so they don’t count.”

Thea continued to direct the flow of their conversation. She asked Felicity questions about herself, but unlike Moira's interrogation, Thea's were genuine interest. So, Felicity allowed herself to open up and shared about her life to the younger Queen. 

_______________

 

Oliver and Thea had dropped off Felicity and were on their way to the mansion. Thea broke the silence they had fallen into.

"I like her. A lot. Don't screw it up with her."

Oliver hadn't missed the implication, but still looked over at her to make sure he had heard correctly. "What?"

"You heard me. I saw the way you two looked at each other tonight."

"What are you talking about?"

Thea continued to look at the passing city before her. "It'll come to you one day."

The rest of the drive home was filled with silence. Oliver continued to think about what Thea had said, but didn't want to think too much. If there was one thing Oliver Queen was good at, it was avoiding all talk about his feelings. And talking about himself in the third person. But that was besides the point. Which is why he now found himself wanting to stop Thea's words from infiltrating his brain. However, that was easier thought about than done.

_______________


	10. Well, That Was Awkward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you very much for all your lovely comments! I enjoy receiving them. :D So, this chapter has a part that I had planned on happening since the beginning, so I'm excited that it's finally written out. 
> 
> Please be aware of the rating change, it does apply to this chapter. 
> 
> As always, a huge thanks to Lo, for being my beta. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Oliver had been watching television with Thea when his phone rang. He looked at the screen to see Sara's name.

"Hey, Sara."

"Ollie, I need a favor."

He could hear music blasting in the background, letting him know she was at work. "What's going on?"

"It's Felicity."

That was all it took to grasp his full attention. Immediately, he got up and began to make his way upstairs to his room to get dressed. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. She called me and she was crying. I couldn't really understand what she was saying. I would go, but I'm stuck at work. And, my boss isn't my biggest fan right now. I don't want to give him reason to hate me more."

"No, I've got it."

"Okay, thank you. I'll text you the details."

****___________** **

He walked into the 24 hour donut shop located on the edge of the Glades. To say this place was sketchy was a huge understatement. He didn't understand why Felicity would even want to come here at one in the morning. He found her sitting in a table in the corner. She eyes were red and puffy, and she was heaving.

"Felicity," he said softly.

She looked up at him surprised. "Oliver. What are you doing here?" she croaked. It was apparent she had been crying.

"Sara called me. What happened? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?" He sat down in front of her and reached out to grab her hands.

"Th-the ba-by is fin-ne," she stammered.

"Then what's going on?"

An employee, a kid who couldn't be more than eighteen years old, came up to them. He looked absolutely terrified.

"Uhh... here's that... here's that milk. I warmed it up for you. I thought that might help."

"Th-thank you-ou Mike."

"Um... the donut holes should be ready in another fifteen minutes."

Felicity's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah?" The kid looked nervous.

"Thank you so much."

He awkwardly went back towards what Oliver assumed was the kitchen.

"Felicity, tell me what is going on. Please," he stressed.

Felicity bit her bottom lip and looked everywhere around the room, except at him. She appeared to be contemplating how she would explain the situation. "I don't know why Sara called you."

That was the first she would say? "She was worried about you. She said it was an emergency."

"It kind of was," she mumbled, still not looking at him.

Oliver continued to stare at her, waiting for her to continue.

Felicity sighed. "I fell asleep pretty early today, because I was just exhausted when I got home from work. I woke up at midnight with this really intense craving for donut holes. They're just so delicious. I tried to eat some of my emergency junk food, but the craving wouldn't go away. I just really need donut holes. So, I got into my car and came here. But, when I got here, Mike informed me that they didn’t have anymore." Tears began to well up in her eyes. "I mean, I drove to the Glades in the middle of the night, and then I got here and they didn't have any. Well, then I was sad and I started crying, because I really wanted donut holes!”

He saw the tears in her eyes threatening to come out. And he felt completely out of his element. He had no idea what was happening.

She sniffles and takes a deep breath, before continuing again. “Sorry. Then, I kind of got out of control a bit and yelled at Mike. I kind of went off on him. It wasn’t pretty. So, he offered to make some for me.” She fidgeted with her hands in front of her. “Even though the baker doesn’t come in until 4 in the morning to bake them,” she mumbled.

“Felicity,” Oliver said.

“I know! But… but I just really want donut holes.”

And with that, she started crying again. He had never seen her this upset. “Uh…” He awkwardly walked around the table to take up the seat next to her, then pulled her into his arms. He guided her head onto his shoulder and allowed her to cry into his jacket.

A couple of minutes later, the kid came out to inform Felicity the donut holes were ready.

“Really?” she asked, her voice full of hope.

“Yeah, I threw in a few extra ones.”

Felicity wiped the tears on her cheeks. She quickly got up from the table and moved to give him a hug. “Oh, thank you Mike!” He handed her the bag of donut holes. “How much is it?”

“Uh, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, I should pay you.”

“No, it’s fine. You go on ahead.”

“I really think I should pay for these. I mean, I did kind of force you to bake them.”

“Really, it’s fine.”

Oliver noticed the frustration in Felicity’s eyes and stepped in, before she started a fight with the poor kid. “Okay, sounds great. We’ll get out of here.”

“Fine,” Felicity says, sounding exasperated. She began to make her way out of the shop.

As Oliver passed the young man, he handed him a fifty dollar bill. “Here, I’m sorry for... whatever this was. I hope this helps.”

Oliver caught up to her outside. “Hey, I think I should take you home.”

“What?” she asks. “I brought my own car here. I can drive myself.”

“I know you can, it would just make me feel better if I drove you home.”

Felicity stared at him, probably assessing his sincerity. “Fine, but you’re responsible for getting my car to my house. I have work tomorrow.” She moved towards his car.

Once inside the car, Felicity opened up the bag of donut holes. She grabbed one and put it in her mouth. “Mmmm…” she savored the donut hole. “They’re so good. I just knew they would make everything better.”

After a few minutes of silence, Felicity spoke up. “You know, I feel like no one ever tells you what pregnancy is actually like. They don’t tell you about the constant fatigue, morning sickness—which doesn’t just apply to the morning—and the most random food cravings. It sucks.” She continued to eat donut holes. “They just tell you about the good stuff. Well, I don’t think I’m there yet. Maybe my pregnancy is a defect or something?”

Oliver stayed quiet. Because really, he had no idea what he could say. He hadn’t personally experienced what she was saying. Other than the weekend at the beach house, he hadn’t really seen any of her pregnancy symptoms. Wait? Was that what this whole night had been about? Had it been caused by her pregnancy? He really needed to learn more about this. They arrived at her home and he walked her to her door. When they reached the porch, Felicity turned around to face him.

She sighed. “Thank you for bringing me home Oliver. You didn’t have to come out, but you did. So thanks for that. I’m exhausted. I’m going to head to bed now. Good night.” She turned and began unlocking her front door.

“Hey, Felicity?”

She didn’t turn around, but answered. “Yeah?”

“I was thinking that, maybe, I should stick around for the night.”

**___________**

She froze. Because _what?_

She turned around to look at him. “I know tonight was a little… interesting, but I’m fine now Oliver. You don’t have to stay.”

“I know, but I want to. I feel like I should.”

“Uhhh…” She didn’t know what else to say. He had caught her off guard. “Um, yeah, okay.” She opened her door and stepped inside. She headed straight for her hallway closet. “Um, you can, you can stay on the couch. Let me grab you some blankets.” She grabbed some sheets and a blanket for him. She moved towards the couch and began to set it up for him. “Oliver, really, I’m fine.”

He stopped her and put a hand on her shoulder. “I know, Felicity. But, I want to be here for you.”

Well, when he said things like that, things happened inside of her. Crap. What was going on? She definitely didn't want to think about it. So, she said the only thing she could think of. “Thank you. I’m going to bed now, bye.” And then she booked it to her bedroom, closing the door behind her. She quickly changed into pjs and got into bed. Once she was laying down, she tried to fall asleep, but it was more difficult. She stared up at the ceiling. All she could think about was the fact that Oliver was sleeping out in her living room couch. How was she supposed to go to bed now? _Seriously?_ But, most of all, why was this freaking her out? If there wasn’t anything there, other than the fact he was her child’s father, then why was she currently feeling this way? Eventually she was able to calm herself down enough to sleep.

**___________**

Felicity was slowly aroused from sleep, with a prickly sensation at her neck. She tried to push it away, so she could go back to sleep, but all she heard was a small laugh and the prickly sensation continued. She felt a hand, slowly making its way up her side, pushing up the shirt she had gone to bed in, eventually reaching its intended destination: her breasts. She felt the hand softly caress and cup one of her breasts, causing a moan to come out of her. The mouth continued to devour her neck, causing pleasure to shoot through her. She felt her breaths begin to get shorter, becoming heavy pants. The mouth paused momentarily as hands removed her shirt, throwing it haphazardly somewhere in the room, leaving her in only her underwear. She really didn’t care, though, because all she wanted was the mouth on her again. She kept her eyes closed.

The mouth moved over her again, however, this time making its way down her collarbone, both hands playing with her breasts; both painful and pleasurable for her, since her breasts were so sensitive these days. She moaned louder this time. The hands moved down her body, stopping at her hips, as that glorious mouth began making its way south, kissing and licking all along the way. She felt the mouth pause briefly at her lower abdomen, caressing it and giving it a soft kiss. It was this action that caused her to finally open her eyes. She lifted her head to look down at the man who was giving her so much pleasure. Upon looking down, she saw Oliver hooking his thumbs into her panties and pulling them down, smiling up at her.

**___________**

Felicity sat up with a gasp. She blinked a couple of times, taking in her surroundings. She could see light streaming through her bedroom window. She had to take a minute to catch her breath. She couldn't believe that had just happened. She tried to remind herself that it was just a dream and _was absolutely not real_. With that, another thought followed: the object of her dream was currently in the next room. He was currently in her living room. Because he had decided to stay the night. Because he wanted to be supportive. Damn him.

She fell back onto the bed. She really needed to get a grip. She took a deep breath. “It’s okay Felicity. It’s okay. This kind of stuff happens all the time. It doesn’t mean anything. Everything is totally fine.”

She made her way out of bed. She needed to get ready for work and completely forget about what had just happened. She checked herself in the mirror and attempted to make herself presentable. She needed to brush her teeth and wash her face, but Oliver was out there. She stood in front of her bedroom door and bit her lip, attempting to muster up the courage to open the door and head out. At that moment, she regretted not having gone for the two bedroom, two bath apartment she had been offered when apartment hunting. It would have made getting ready easier this morning. She really could have used an ensuite bathroom. Finally, Felicity convinced herself, that since the dream had meant nothing, there was no reason to avoid Oliver. He was still the same old Oliver as the previous day. There was no reason to worry or feel weird. Absolutely none. So, with that in mind, she opened the door. Instantly, the smell of coffee hit her nostrils. Thankfully, it didn’t make her stomach revolt like much of everything these days. Felicity briefly wondered if the baby liked coffee.

She walked out towards the living room and found Oliver shirtless, putting his arms into his shirt from the night before. Instantly, she yelped and turned around. This was not the first visual from Oliver that she needed, especially after that dream. Damn it! She didn’t want to think about Oliver in that way. She covered her eyes with her hands and asked, “Is it safe?”

She heard him chuckle before answering her. “Yeah, you’re good.”

When she turned around, he had already buttoned up his shirt and was rolling up the sleeves, showing incredibly toned forearms. Which were doing things to her. Who knew she could find forearms sexy? She never would've thought so before now. She realized she was still staring at him and tried to change the subject. “Is that coffee?” she asked, taking in the smell in the air.

“Oh, yeah. I hope you don’t mind, I brewed a pot.”

She hummed her approval as she made her way into her kitchen. She opened up one of the cupboards to grab a cup. Of course, today of all days, the mug she wanted was all the way in the back of the cupboard, where she had to stretch onto her tippy toes to reach. She felt Oliver behind her in the next moment.

“Here, I’ll get that for you.”

He brushed against her in his attempt to help her, and his touch sent electricity through her. She flinched involuntarily, and moved away from him to stand in front of the coffee machine, with her back to him. She really couldn't face him right now.

"Here you go," he said, appearing confused. He held out the mug to her and she hastily turned around to grab it.

She poured herself a cup and then opened her fridge to grab creamer.

"So, how much coffee are you allowed to have?"

She took a sip and grumbled. Not looking up from her cup she answered, "Not as much as I want. But at least it's better than not having any."

“It’ll be worth it in the end, right?”

She looked up to meet his eyes. A small smile played on her lips, despite the awkwardness she was feeling. “Yeah, it will.” It was a sweet moment, but the second it was over, she looked away to avoid his gaze. Without looking at him, she began making her way back to her room. “Okay, well I have to go get ready for work. Thanks for the coffee.”

She closed the door to her room and leaned against it for a few seconds, before getting dressed. Her mind kept going back to her dream. She really didn’t want to think about Oliver in that way. So they’d had sex. So she was pregnant with his child. That’s all their relationship would be. That’s all she wanted their relationship to be. At least, that’s what she thought. Ugh, she really needed to deal with this. She wouldn’t let it fester inside of her. Or else, she might not able to ever look Oliver in the eye. And, since they were going to be in each other’s lives forever now, they really needed to be in communication, like friends. Nothing more. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Sara, asking her to meet for lunch. She was surprised she received a quick response from Sara, given she had worked last night until the early hours this morning. When she was done, she made her way back out, not expecting Oliver to still be there. However, it was wishful thinking. She found him cooking in her kitchen. How did he even know how to do that? Her shock must have been evident in her face.

“I made breakfast. I hope it’s okay I kind of just started doing things.”

“ _You know how to cook?_ ” she asked incredulously. Of course that would be the first thing out of her mouth.

“Yeah, I do. Raisa, my housekeeper taught me. She spent one summer teaching me all the basics. I guess I just continued to learn from there.”

As if she needed another reason to find Oliver perfect. He knew how to cook too. “Oh,” was all she could muster.

“Here, I made you an omelet.” He transferred the omelet from the pan on the stove to a plate.

She couldn’t stay in the same room with him any longer. “Uh,” she said looking around the room, still avoiding his eyes. “Does it have a to go option? I’m running late,” she lied.

She turned back in time to see his face fall a little. “Um, yeah. Do you have a container?”

“Yeah, it’s in there,” she said pointing to the cupboard below. She moved into the kitchen to put the rest of her coffee into a travel mug. She made great effort to avoid eye contact with him when he handed her the container with her breakfast. Without looking at him, she made her way towards her front door to gather her purse and coat. "So, I guess just lock the door on your way out. Thanks for this morning. I mean, thanks for breakfast!" She opened the door quickly and exited her apartment.

**___________**

 

Felicity had practically ran out of the apartment, leaving him extremely confused. Actually, he was pretty sure if she weren’t pregnant and carrying things, she would’ve ran out. He didn’t understand what had happened throughout the morning. She appeared distraught and distant. He had become accustomed to the openness she had adapted with him in recent weeks. And, to be honest, he really enjoyed the friendship they had been building. He just wanted to be there for her to offer her his support. This pregnancy had been something neither of them had anticipated, and since she was the one to actually carry the baby, he wanted to help her out as much as possible. However, that had been difficult this morning. Maybe he had overstepped her boundaries. Or maybe her behavior had nothing to do with him.

He moved to grab the sheets and blanket Felicity had let him use, and made his way to her laundry room. All throughout his life, Raisa had done his laundry for him. It wasn't until he had gone off to college with not to many domestic traits that he had learned. It had been the girlfriend of his freshmen year roommate, Maseo, that had taught him how to do his laundry. Tatsu had laughed at first when he had told her he didn't know how to do laundry. When she had realized he was being serious, she had stopped and showed him the difference in washing machine cycles and heat levels on the dryer. She had told him, "Everyone should know how to do laundry. Especially if you're living on your own." He had returned to Starling the following summer, for vacation, excitedly showing Raisa his new skills. Having learned one basic domestic skill, he had asked her if she would teach him how to cook. He would be living in an off campus apartment for his sophomore year and he would no longer be able to rely on the school's cafeteria to feed him.

When he was done cleaning the dishes he had used in the kitchen, he switched over the laundry and decided it was time to go. He had already called his secretary and told her he wouldn't be making it into the office. He headed back to the mansion. He thought about the fact that maybe it was time for him to finally move out of his childhood home. He would be having a child soon, and with his mom's current attitude towards Felicity, he didn't think it would be good idea for the two of them to be in the same place. And since he figured Felicity would be there a lot, getting his own place was really the only option.

While on the drive, his mind wandered back to Felicity's behavior in the morning. He decided to call Tommy, looking for advice on what to do.

"What's up buddy?" Tommy's voice filtered through the speakers on the car's Bluetooth system.

"I need your advice. Can you meet up for lunch?"

"Yeah, I'm clear. Just tell me what time and where."

**___________**

  
****

Felicity entered the small cafe and found Sara sitting towards the back. She motioned to the hostess, letting her know she would be walking back.

As soon as Felicity sat down, Sara asked, "Okay, what's going on?"

"What? Why? Why do you think something's going on?"

"You sounded weird in your text."

"What? How can you tell how I sound through text?"

"Felicity, I’m your best friend. I know you. Sometimes better than you know yourself. That and you've looked nervous since I saw you enter the restaurant. And, you called me crying last night at midnight."

Those were all valid reasons. Somehow Sara just always knew without Felicity telling her. And if not that, she was very observant. It was something Felicity had come to appreciate about their friendship.

"IhadasexdreamaboutOliver," she mumbled quickly into her hands.

Sara furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Felicity looked up to look at her friend and took a deep breath. "I, um, I had a... sex dream about Oliver."

Sara choked on the glass of water she was drinking, gaining the attention of the other patrons. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said—"

"No, I heard what you said. I guess I'm just trying to understand."

"Well I don't know. I think it might have had something to do with him staying over. Maybe my subconscious just put him in my dream about—"

" _I'm sorry, what?_ "

Felicity stopped talking. She bit her lip, not completely knowing how to go about answering this question.

"Did you just say he _stayed_ at your apartment?"

"Um, yeah," she answered shyly. She looked away, because she was unable to look at Sara in the eye while saying that. She knew she was going to get crap because of it.

“Why did he stay at your apartment? I sent him to pick you up, not to stay the night.”

"Yeah, well, I guess I might've freaked him out a bit and he... asked... to stay over," Felicity said unsure, feeling like maybe she shouldn't have told her best friend this. She had already been attempting so hard to bring them together. This would only add fuel to that fire.

“Really?”

“Yeah?”

“Hmmm…. Okay. So your dream?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have brought this up at all,” Felicity pondered.

“No, I think this is good. You need someone to process this with. So what happened in your dream?”

“I’m not comfortable discussing this.”

“Felicity, if you can’t discuss a sex dream you had about the father of your child, who was conceived from a one night stand, with your best friend who used to sleep with said father, then who can you talk about it with?”

Felicity stared at her with her mouth open. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, before formulating a thought. “Okay, this makes me want to talk to you about it less. Maybe I should’ve talked to Laurel about this.”

“Hey, she had sex with him for a longer period of time than I did.” Sara drummed on the table. “So, this sex dream? Was he good?”

“Sara!” Felicity buried her face in her hands. She took a moment, then looked up to meet her friend’s eyes. “I woke up before it got to the good part,” she whined.

“Oh. That sucks.” Sara leaned over and patted Felicity’s shoulder. “Do you think you have feelings for him?”

“No, Sara. I already told you, it’s not like that. It’s not going to be like that.” Felicity looked down, then in a lower voice said, “I don’t want it to be like that.” Felicity’s head snapped up. “You can’t tell _anybody_ about this! I’m serious Sara. I don’t want this out and about.”

“Please, who am I going to tell?”

******___________  
**

Oliver saw Tommy walk in and make his way towards him. He felt relief upon seeing his friend arrive. There were so many questions he wanted to ask him. He really needed guidance in this situation. Oliver attempted small talk, not wanting to get into everything running through his mind, but Tommy saw right through it.

“Okay, so what’s got your normal cool, collected self all over the place?” Tommy used his to elaborate.

Oliver chuckled. “Uh, I guess I need your help understanding some things.”

"Help understanding what?"

"Uh, pregnant women?"

Tommy laughed. "Oh, buddy. No one understands them."

"I just don't understand what happened last night. I got a call from Sara telling me Felicity needed me. I found her at a donut shop crying, because there weren't any donut holes. Donut holes! Are they really that big of a deal. Then, it was over with and she was perfectly fine. It freaked me out so much. I didn't know what to do. And then this morning when I was making breakfast and coffee? It was like she couldn't even look at me. I have absolutely no idea what's going on or what I should do to help."

Tommy's brows drew together in confusion. "What do you mean this morning when you were making breakfast?"

"Oh, I stayed over at her place last night." At Tommy's raised eyebrow, he continued, "Because I wanted to make sure she was going to be okay. It really freaked me out."

"Im totally going to pass over you staying the night with her—"

"We were in separate rooms," Oliver added, a little irritated.

"Okay, fine. Call it whatever you want. But, what happened last night my friend is called hormones. Welcome to the luxurious life of pregnancy.”

“What?”

“There’s this phenomenon that occurs to all pregnant women. Where their hormones are completely out of whack and their emotions, moods, behavior are all over the place. And your job is to support her in any way you can even when she makes no sense. What-so-ev-er. That's just the life of the supportive partner. Although, since the two of you aren't technically together, I'm not sure where that leaves you."

Oliver pondered over this information.

"So, back to you staying the night at her place." **  
**

"Tommy," he warned. "There's nothing there. She's made it clear she doesn't want anything and we've both decided that we're going to be friends. I just want to be supportive of her and the baby. I want her to be happy. I want the baby to be healthy and grow up knowing it's loved. And, I'm going to do whatever needs to be done to make sure it happens."

"Well, that's a life plan, if I ever saw one. When did you start making those?"

Oliver laughed. "After the last time we got arrested for public intoxication and my dad lectured us on responsibility."

Tommy laughed as well. "I remember that. Oh, Robert."

"Yeah. His face was so red, I was sure he was going to have a heart attack."

"Good thing he hasn't had a reason to give another one of those lectures anymore."

"Thea has definitely been calmer. Maybe she learned from my mistakes."

"Nah, she's too busy being ambitious and taking over the world."

The waitress came out with their food and they focused the rest of their meal on other topics.

**********___________  
** ** **

Laurel had decided that day was perfect to have her over for dinner. Sara had mentioned it to her during their lunch, before she’d headed back to work. She had agreed, without really thinking too much into, more concerned with arriving back to work on time. However, after receiving a text from Oliver checking if she was going, she scolded herself for not having asked Sara who would be there. He had offered to give her a ride. She hadn’t really found an excuse to say no, which was why she now found herself sitting in Oliver’s passenger seat. She was facing out the window, still unable to look him in the eye.

She thought confessing to Sara about her dream would help her discomfort, but sitting in the car with him now, she saw that it hadn’t done much good. She still felt completely uncomfortable. She _knew_ she didn’t think of Oliver that way. She didn’t want to, because it would just complicate things more. And she really didn’t need complicated right now.

“Felicity?”

“Yeah?” she responded, without looking at him.

“Did I… did I do something wrong?” he asked, with genuine concern.

She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but it hadn’t been that. However, she definitely did not want him to know about what had been running through her mind all day, so she answered a little too quickly, “Nope! Nothing. You did nothing wrong? Why? Why do you ask that?” _Smooth Smoak,_ she thought.

He glanced over at her. “Are you sure? ‘Cause you’ve been acting weird. You seemed… I don’t know… off this morning. And again right now.”

"Off?" she asked. "What? No. I'm not off. I'm on. Well, not on, because you can't turn a person on. I mean, you can—but we're not taking in a sexual manner!" She groaned. "There's nothing wrong. Everything is normal. You don't need to worry."

"Are you sure?" he asked skeptically.

She knew she wasn't helping herself or the situation. She had to find a way to convince him so things wouldn't be weirder than they already were. So that she wouldn't have to tell him why she now felt uncomfortable around him.

She took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm sure. To be honest, most of the time I don't know what's going on with me. I don't understand my emotions these days and I guess I'm just trying to navigate through them. Haven't been successful yet."

He reached over to grab her hand. Which did not help. At all.

"Felicity, I'm here for you. Both of you. Whatever you need."

She managed a jerky nod, "Mmm-hmmm," and moved her hand out of his the first appropriate moment, so she wouldn't hurt his feelings. Luckily, they had arrived at Laurel and Tommy's. Felicity quickly got out of the car, hardly waiting for Oliver to catch up with her. She didn't miss the look on Tommy's face when he opened the door to find the two of them together.

"Hey!" he enthusiastically greeted them. As he pulled Felicity in for a hug, he asked, "How's my second favorite momma? Should we start calling you Smoakin' Momma?"

Felicity playfully slapped him on his bicep. "Knock it off."

Tommy laughed. "Come in." He led them inside the house where Laurel, Nyssa, and Sara were sitting at the dining room table.

"Hey guys," Sara said a little too cheerfully. And, she was already drunk. She made her way to give Felicity a hug, that really just ended in her draping her arms around Felicity. Sara lay her head on Felicity's shoulder. "I missed you friend."

"Sara, we just saw each other earlier."

"I know, but I still missed you."

Felicity could smell the the alcohol on her and it made her nauseous. She looked at Laurel and asked, "Can I get a secondhand drunk?"

"I'm not drunk!" Sara defended herself.

Felicity gave her a pointed stare.

"Okay, yeah I am. But I finally have a day off and I'm going to enjoy myself."

"I can tell," Felicity dead panned. "Come on." Felicity guided Sara to sit down at the table. Oliver and Tommy sat down as well, and they all began serving themselves food. Throughout dinner, Felicity continued to avoid all eye contact with Oliver. When they had finished up, Tommy and Oliver left the room, in claims of wanting to go watch a game. Whenever people started speaking about sports, Felicity did a pretty good job at tuning them out. She just wasn't into them. She was in the kitchen with Laurel, Nyssa, and Sara, standing around the island. Felicity was eating small snack, finding herself still hungry.

"Does the constant hunger ever go away? I feel like I'm going to gain fifty pounds by the time baby is ready to come out."

Laurel laughed. "Sadly no, but if you keep up with your workouts, you should be able to manage your weight."

Felicity paused. "My what now?"

"Are you not working out?"

"Um.... Well, I work all day and then when I get home, I'm so exhausted I just crash. So, no."

"Felicity, you should really look into ways to stay active while pregnant. It's good for you and it's good for baby. There's this prenatal yoga class I do every once in awhile, we should go to it."

"Are you sure you can do that?" Felicity asked. "You look like you're ready to pop."

"She is," Nyssa said. "She's in her last few weeks."

Laurel rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. I can still do things. Let's make a plan to go. Let me know when you're available."

Felicity smiled. "Yeah, okay."

"So Felicity, what's going on with you and Oliver?"

That caught her off guard and she began choking on the pretzel in her mouth. When she cleared it, she said, "Nothing. There's nothing going on there. Why do you think something's going on?"

"You looked really uncomfortable being around him during dinner. And now you're being super odd about it." Laurel narrows her eyes.

"Odd? I'm not being odd. I'm perfectly fine."

"Right," Laurel said unbelieving.

Sara spoke up before Felicity could attempt to defend herself. "Oh, come on Felicity. Stop being so jittery just because you had that sex dream of Oliver."

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing. Felicity froze, her hand stopping mid air with the pretzel she was going to stuff in her mouth. She heard Laurel's gasp and saw her eyes widen in shock, staring behind Felicity.

She heard a throat clear behind her. "Hey, guys," Tommy said awkwardly.

She didn't have to turn around to know who else was behind her. She stayed silent.

As tipsy as Sara was, Felicity could tell she immediately regretted speaking. "Uhh..." she began, but it died out on her lips.

One to avoid awkward situations, Tommy attempted to make light of it. He laughed and asked, "Are you sure it was a dream? Maybe it was just a memory?"

But, before she could think her response through, she answered, "No, not a dream, because he didn't do that when we..." she trailed off, when she realized she was speaking out loud. Her eyes widened and she could feel the flush that was beginning to make an appearance on her face. "I'm going to go to the bathroom." She walked out of the room, muttering about not being able to have alcohol.

**___________**

 

Well, that definitely explained her behavior. She'd had a sex dream about him. What did that mean?

"Damn it," he heard Sara mutter. "Ollie, you weren't supposed to have heard that. Ever. I'm going to go talk to her." She walked out of the room.

Sara had been drunk since they had arrived, but this appeared to have sobered her up.

"Nyssa, will you help me clean up the dining room?"

"Yeah, let's go," Nyssa answered wearily.

"So, um, at least now you know what's been going on with her," Tommy said.

Oliver scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess. Uh, what do I do?"

Tommy clapped his shoulder. "Honestly? I wouldn't think too much into it. Pregnant women have sex dreams all the time. It has to do with their hormones."

Oliver felt something pull at him. But he wasn't sure if it was encouragement or discouragement.

"I'm going to see if Felicity wants to head home. I think tonight is pretty much over." He gave Tommy a hug then went to find Felicity.

**___________**

In the bathroom, she took time to splash water on her face and looked up at the mirror. "Come on, Smoak. Quit being such a worry wart. You're strong. You've done nothing wrong.That stuff just happens." She heard a knock at the bathroom door, but was too freaked out to actually open it. She was afraid it would be Oliver.

"Felicity," Sara called out.

She felt better instantly. Still, she stayed quiet.

"Felicity, I just want you to know I am incredibly sorry. I know you had asked me not to talk about the dream. It just slipped out, but that doesn't make a difference. What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry. I should've paid better attention to what was going on around me."

Felicity opened the door a crack.

"Hey, I'm sorry."

"I know. It was still a shitty thing to do."

Sara groaned. "I know."

"I didn't want Oliver to know, because I didn't want things to be weird between us. I'm already having a hard time dealing with it and it's already weird."

Sara groaned again. "I'm an awful friend."

Felicity put a hand on Sara's shoulder. "No. Well, kind of, right now. I'll get over it. I just need a minute."

Oliver appeared behind Sara, and Felicity felt herself stiffen.

"Hey," he said, looking directly at Felicity, "are you ready to head out?"

Now it was Felicity's turn to groan.

**___________**

 They drove back to her place in silence. Felicity looked out the window, avoiding any form of contact with Oliver. When they arrived at her apartment Oliver, ever so the gentlemen, walked her to her door. Felicity turned around to finally face him.

"Look," she began, at the same time he said, "Felicity."

He chuckled. "Felicity, I want you to know that I know that dream didn't mean anything. It's okay. It doesn't matter. So, don't stress out about it, okay?"

Felicity let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Oh, thank God. I don't think of you that way Oliver. Not that I don't think you're attractive, because obviously I do. Otherwise I wouldn't have slept with you in the first place. I don't understand why I had that dream, but I know that there's not some underlying issue my subconscious is trying to tell me." She gave him a hug, then rose on her toes to give him a light kiss on his cheek. When she pulled away, she cupped his face, and said, "Thank you Oliver," then walked inside.

**___________**

Oliver stood outside her apartment for a couple of minutes, still staring at her front door. It hit him like a ton of bricks. It just hit him and he didn't know what to do with it. It was exactly like Thea had said. Everything he had been feeling, but wasn't quite sure what it was. It all hit him at once, brought on by that smile on her face.

He was falling for Felicity.

**___________**


	11. Proposition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, man. If you're still around: thank you! Every time I see a comment or a kudo, my heart melts. 
> 
> I had a major case of writer's block with this chapter and it was hard to come out of it. But, I did it and I'm finding my groove again with this story. This chapter is a little shorter than previous chapters, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.

Felicity stared at herself in the mirror. She was entering her second trimester, at least that’s what her doctor had told her. Felicity played with her oversized tee shirt, lifting it up and then down, because now she could see a distinct small bump on her lower abdomen. She put her hand over it, cradling it. If felt weird. This small bump was her child. A child she had created--with the help of Oliver, but that was besides the point. The baby was growing; she was helping it grow. And while in the first trimester, she was really the only one that felt the pregnancy, now the world would be able to see it too.

She heard a knock at her front door. She made her way through her living room and opened the door to reveal a smiling Oliver. Oliver’s smile always brought a smile out of her, as well as butterflies in her stomach, but she liked to attribute that to something else.

“Hi,” he greeted, still with that damn smile that brought out his dimples.

“Hi,” she responded, also smiling, because it was contagious. “Oh, come in,” she said and moved aside so he could come inside. She closed the door and walked behind him. “I’m almost ready. I just need to change really quick and put on shoes.”

“Okay.” Oliver moved to sit on her couch. 

A thought popped into her head. “Hey, want to see something cool?”

“Uh, yeah. What’s up?” he asked.

Felicity moved closer to him, then lifted her shirt to show her protruding stomach.

His eyes widened. "Whoa! When did that happen?" He leaned in with his hands in the air, tentatively waiting for her approval for him to lay them on her stomach.

She nodded and giggled. "That's a good question. I woke up today and it was just there."

Oliver gently laid his hands on her stomach, caressing it. "Wow. This is the baby."

"Yup, that's little nugget."

In a move that surprised Felicity, causing her breath to still, Oliver leaned down to softly place his lips on her stomach, giving it a small kiss. "Hi baby, I’m your dad. And, I love you so much. I can’t wait to meet you.”

Felicity felt her eyes fill with tears at his words. Oliver looked up at her and smiled. She returned it widely, a tear making its way down her cheek. The moment felt so intimate. She quickly wiped it away. “Um, I need to get dressed and then I’ll be ready. Give me a couple of minutes.”

“Okay. I’ll be out here waiting.”

Felicity pulled her shirt down and made her way into her room, heading towards her closet. She quickly changed into a free flowing summer dress. Just because she was now showing, didn’t mean she wanted others to point it out immediately. Really, she didn’t want them to notice it at all. She wanted to keep this to herself as long as possible. Not because she was ashamed, but because it was so special to her, she wanted to this part of herself private. She wanted to stay in this little bubble for as long as possible.

She came back out and informed Oliver she was ready to go. She made easy conversation with him on the way to the first home. As time progressed, she found it easier to talk to him. So much so, that sometimes she would find herself texting him just to say, “Hello,” or wish him a good day. He had easily become someone important in her life--aside from the fact they were having a kid together.

****_________** **

After having gone through four different condos and penthouses, they rode up an elevator to a loft on the outskirts of downtown Starling. It was their last listing of the day. The realtor opened up the door, showing them into an incredibly expansive room.

“So this one is a three bedroom, 2.5 bath,” the realtor began, but Felicity tuned her out, having been distracted by the view of the city. The entire back wall was windows. She moved towards the balcony, not even bothering to ask if she could go out there before she was opening the door. She leaned against the railing, looking out the buildings around her. It was still light out, and she just knew this would be a beautiful sight during the night. She just figured she’d have to come back at a different time. Well, that was if Oliver did end up getting this place.

She sensed Oliver before she heard him. She didn’t know how, but it was just something that happened these days. She was hyper aware of him all the time. She had thought that maybe it had to do with the fact she was carrying his child. At least that was what she wanted to chalk it up to, because she really didn’t want to go much deeper into it.  

“Hey,” he said softly, as he leaned against the railing.

“Hi.” She turned to him and smiled. “This place is awesome.”

“Yeah, it is.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I already like this place much more than the others.”

“Me, too. Come on, let’s go see the upstairs.”

He lead her towards the stairs, where Jessica was waiting for them at the top. As they moved from room to room, Felicity began picturing it as the place her child would grow up. Jessica’s phone rang. “I’ll be right back. Feel free to roam.”

They went into the room next to the master bedroom.

“This would probably be the nursery.”

“It’s nice.” She turned around and took the entire room in.

“Yeah. We could go and pick out furniture together. If you want.”

She turned to face him. “Yeah, I’d like that.” He continuously managed to surprise her. He was making her a part of every decision that could possibly involve their child. He was so thoughtful. And, it was so much more than she could ever hope for in this situation. She walked up to him and gave him a hug, feeling tears at her eyes. “Thank you for being present Oliver. Just thank you for being you.”

She felt him tense for a second before wrapping his arms around her, returning her hug. “Of course. I would do anything for you.”

She felt her breath catch in her throat, but before she could respond in any way, they heard a throat clearing by the door. They both moved away from each other, and Felicity found herself missing the warmth of his arms.

“So, what are your thoughts?” Jessica asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

Felicity found her cheeks feeling warmer, and avoided eye contact with either of them.

Oliver glanced at Felicity, then at Jessica. “This is the place.”

“Okay, great! I can start up paperwork today, and we can see if we can move you in by the end of the month. I’m going to call the office now.”

“Are you okay?” Oliver asked, gesturing towards the tears that were now drying on her cheeks.

Felicity burrowed her eyebrows in confusion, but then realization dawned on her and she wiped her tears away. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine. This just happens all the time.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Sorry, I forgot.”

Felicity grinned, then laughed. “Yeah, donutgate. Am I going to live that down?”

“Not a chance. It was a great learning experience for me.”

“What? How to deal with a pregnant woman?”

“No, not to tell a pregnant woman there are no donut holes.”

“Ha ha, very funny.” She looked at her phone and realized it was almost five. “Oh, I have to get going or I’m going to be late for yoga.”

“Yoga?” Oliver asked.

She was shooting a quick text out to Laurel, letting her know there was a possibility she might be running late. “Yeah,” she began absentmindedly. “She convinced me to go to prenatal yoga. She said it helps her.”

He raised an eyebrow in question.

Felicity offered a shrug. “I don’t know, she said it would be good for the baby.”

“Okay, I can take you if you want?”

She shook her head, “No, it’s okay. I can get Uber. Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks for coming along.”

“No problem. I’ll talk to you later.” With that she made her way out the loft and towards the elevator.

 ****_________****  

Felicity had barely had enough time to go home, change, and get to the studio. Laurel waved at her when she saw her come inside.

“Hey, I was beginning to think you weren’t going to make it.”

“Pffft. And miss this? Nope. Never. I was actually looking at homes with Oliver.”

Laurel raised both of her eyebrows. Felicity saw that she was getting ready to ask a question, but just then the instructor called the group to attention. However, Felicity should have known this wouldn’t deter her.

Laurel whispered, “House hunting? Together?”

“Yeah. Well, not together, together. Just together.” Felicity shook her head. “Ugh, that was not at all what I meant.”

Laurel continued to eye her for a few more seconds, then focused back on the instructor. Somehow, Felicity managed to get through the rest of the class. How? She had no clue. But, she managed to transition, mostly smoothly, through the different positions.

When the class was finally over, Felicity found herself on the floor, unable to get up without help.

“So, what did you think? Do you want to come back next week?” Laurel asked her excitedly.

Felicity only groaned in response, but it didn’t deter Laurel’s excitement.

“Come on,” Laurel coaxed her, offering Felicity help up.

“How do you still have energy?” Felicity asked, getting up slowly. “You’re further along than I am.”

“Yoga,” Laurel answered cockily.

That caused Felicity to snort. “All right then.”

“So, you and Oliver?” Laurel pried.

“Oh, please,” Felicity rolled her eyes, before a second thought made its way into her brain. “Wait, I have a question for you.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Is it weird for you that I’m having a baby with your ex-boyfriend?”

“Circumstances? Yes. But weird? Not too much. To be honest, I’m surprised he made it this long without getting anyone else pregnant. Oliver and I were highschool sweethearts, but while we were dating, he was never as in the relationship as I was. I always gave more and put more effort into it than he did. And I knew that. I knew who he was and his track record going in, but I still thought that maybe I could be the exception. But, I wasn’t. And that’s okay, because it helped me realize that I deserved so much better than what Ollie gave. Then I started dating Tommy. It took a while for me to agree to a date with him, because he was just like Ollie.” She smiled, shaking her head. “I just don’t know what it was, but he finally broke me. And, he was the best boyfriend I’d ever had. He was better at it than he thought he could be. I think he surprised himself a bit, actually. Now, he’s a great husband and father. And, Oliver, he’s not the same guy he used to be. He’s changed a lot over the last few years. Especially with this situation. I’ve never seen him take such responsibility for things. I’m proud of who he’s become. I never thought I’d say the words, but I think Oliver is going to be a great dad.”

“Wow, um, thanks for that,” Felicity spoke, feeling a little dumbfounded. Because she definitely did not expect that.

“By the way, I can see your baby bump coming out,” Laurel said, motioning to the distinct small bump that makes a clear appearance in the tight clothes Felicity was wearing.

Felicity smiled. “Yeah, I just saw it this morning. I feel like it wasn’t there yesterday, and then today it was. It feels weird, because this makes everything more real.”

“That’s usually how it feels. Come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

With that they gathered their things and made their way out of the studio, towards Laurel’s car.

****_________** **

When Felicity arrived home, she went straight into her bathroom. The prenatal yoga had left her sweaty--and not the kind she enjoyed. She began removing her clothes, anxious to get underneath the shower’s hot spray. It had been a while since she’d had any form of exercise. And really, if she had too look back, she would say when her child was conceived was the last physical activity she had actually partaken in. She had woken up the next day deliciously sore, but she had been too freaked out by the implications to focus too much on that. Until now. Because dammit, she was starting to realize she really missed sex. And, the further she went into her pregnancy, the more she had a strong desire for it. Her doctor had informed her it was normal. That her body would be craving it for the next few months. Which was just wonderful, because she was not currently in a relationship. And, she knew she wouldn’t be in a relationship for a while.

But now, she was feeling a different kind of sore. Muscles all throughout her body ached and she decided she wouldn’t go so long without working out again. She opened the curtain and stepped inside her shower. Once inside, she moved to close the curtain, glancing in the direction of her clothes and underwear. She let out a small gasp upon finding blood stains on her underwear. She stepped backwards until her back touched the wall, her hands making a way to her cover her mouth, fear suddenly gripping her. She had been having mild abdominal cramping earlier, but hadn’t thought much of it. She’d experienced that during her first trimester. Now, she was terrified. She knew what it could mean.

She allowed herself a couple of seconds to freak out some more, then turned the water off. She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around herself. She moved to her bedroom and grabbed her phone. She could feel tears pricking her eyes, begging to come out. But, she wouldn't let them. Not yet. She knew in her current state she wouldn’t be able to drive herself. It wouldn’t be smart, so she did the next best thing and ordered  an Uber. Afterwards, she quickly got dressed in a pair of comfy sweats, a simple t-shirt, throwing on her MIT sweatshirt and sneakers. A notification on her phone let her know her car had arrived. When she was buckled in, she told the driver to go to the hospital.

He turned back to look at at her, before saying, “Okay. Is it an emergency?”

“Kind of,” she answered quietly, not sure if she could trust her voice. And that was when she broke down. She was scared of what this could mean. She wouldn't allow herself to go there. She wouldn't allow herself to think of a life without her child, when she had already begun to fantasized about it. She had to think that everything was going to be fine, or else she didn’t know where her mental state would be.

The driver disrupted her thoughts by asking, “Are you okay?”

She let out a shaky breath. “No. I’m pregnant and I just found blood in my underwear and I’m freaking out. And, I know that’s too much info, but like I said, I’m just freaking out. And, I just really want my mom right now.”

“Oh, wow. Um…”

She could tell he was at a loss for words.

“Uh, does she live nearby? We can pick her up,” he offered.

“No, she lives in Vegas.” She pulled out her phone and dialed her mom’s number.

She answered almost immediately. “Hi, baby!”

“Mom?”

She knew her mom had picked up on her distress. “What’s wrong?”

She explained the situation to her, sobs escaping her in between words. “Mom, I’m scared,” she whispered.

“Okay, baby, take a deep breath. I’m going to find someone to cover my shifts and take a flight out there. Everything’s going to be fine. I promise you.”

“Mom, you don’t have to do that.”

“Nonsense, sweetheart. I’m your mom. This is what I’m here for.”

 ****_________****  

She walked into the ER and made her way towards the receptionist station.

“Um, hi. I’m pregnant, currently in my second trimester, and I found blood on my underwear, so I’m freaking out. A lot. Where do I go?”

The nurse stared at her before spurring into action. She began checking Felicity in and within ten minutes she was being called into one of the examination rooms. Felicity attempted to stay calm and positive while a nurse came in and took her vitals, asking her all the necessary information. But, she still wasn’t able to stop the tears that came when she grappled with severity of it all.

**_________**

 As Oliver rushed through the ER’s entrance, to say he was freaked was a huge understatement. He hadn’t been prepared at all to receive a phone call from one Donna Smoak, informing him he needed to get to the ER immediately, because Felicity was there. He hadn't really paid attention to what else she had said until he heard her call his name. At that point she had just told him not to freak out, because Felicity needed him, and that she would see him soon.

He reached the receptionist and said, “Hi, I'm looking for Felicity Smoak.”

Without looking up from her computer screen, she asked, “Are you family?,” and continued typing on her keyboard.

That caught him off guard. “Uhhh….”

The receptionist turn her attention to him and narrowed her eyes at him.

“Look, we're technically not family. But she's pregnant and I'm the dad. And I have no idea what's going on right now. But, I just need to see her.”

Taking in the seriousness of his words and his facial expression, she looked at her computer screen for the information. “Okay, it looks like she's waiting for an ultrasound. I'll buzz you in, and you'll just walk down to nurses station, and they'll direct you from there.” She appeared sympathetic, which only made him more nervous. He moved through the ER and stopped in front of what he assumed was the nurse’s station the receptionist had been talking about. He really wasn't sure he could comprehend anything correctly at the moment. He just wanted to see with his own eyes that Felicity was fine.

He found her in a room, laying down on a hospital bed, with her hand resting above her head. It was obvious she had been crying. He walked into the room and saw her startle at the sound.

She looked up at him, realization dawning in her widening eyes. “Oh, Oliver.” She sat up and wiped the tears under her eyes. “I completely forgot to call you. How did you know I was here?”

“Your mom called me.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “You guys talk to each other?”

“Uh, yeah. She asked for my phone number when she was here. She said she wanted to be able to get a hold of me in case anything happened. I guess it was a good call.” He sat down in  chair next to the bed.

She rolled her eyes. “Well, I’m glad one of us was thinking things through.”

“What happened?”

“I um… I found blood in my underwear and I was freaking out, because that’s not good. It’s not good at all, because I’m in the second trimester. At this point the baby should be securely in there--”

He interrupted her, “Hey, hey, take a deep breath.”

She did as he instructed, taking in a shaky breath, a fresh set of tears making their way down her face. “I’m waiting for the doctor to get here. He thinks everything might be fine, but wanted to do an ultrasound to know for sure if the baby was okay.”

“Okay… okay.”

“Oliver, I’m scared.”

He reached out to grab her hand, and she moved to lean into him.

“When I first found out I was pregnant, I didn’t even know if I could do it. I was scared. I didn’t know you, I didn’t know what kind of person you were. And now? Now we’ve become friends, and I just can’t picture my life without this baby.” She looked up at him. “I can’t really picture my life without you, either. I’ve started to picture what life could be. I’ve started to think about holidays, first days of school, buying it its first computer. I want it all.”

There was a knock at the door before he could think of anything to say to her.

“Hi there,” announced a man appearing in his late fifties. Oliver assumed he was the doctor. “Are you ready for the ultrasound?”

Felicity offered a shaky, “Yes.”

The doctor motioned towards Oliver and asked, “Are you the father?”

Oliver took an unsteady breath, suddenly feeling nervous. “Yes, yes I am.”

“All right, good to have you here. Okay, your vitals are all showing well, so now we just have to take a look at the baby and see how it’s doing.” As he was setting up the machine, he continued, “I want to say that it looks like the mild cramps and spotting were due to the physical activity you partook in earlier. But, we’re not out of the clear until we hear the heartbeat.”

Felicity nodded at the doctor. “Okay.” As she moved around, she reached for Oliver’s hand, intertwining their fingers together. And he knew, he knew it was just as much for him as it was for her. They waited in silence as the doctor began setting the ultrasound machine up.

The doctor instructed Felicity to lay down and the silence that followed was deafening. Because just like Felicity, he had begun to picture the life he could have with a little version of himself or Felicity running around. He had begun to picture what his life could be, reaching milestones, exactly like Felicity had said. And, he didn’t want to give it up. Now that it was in his grasp, he wanted that life badly.

 _Thump- thump- thump_.

His thoughts were disrupted by the sound of his child’s heartbeat. He let out a breathless laugh as relief coursed through him. He glanced at Felicity to find her smiling up at him. She brought up her free hand to cup his cheek and wiped a tear he wasn’t aware of that had fallen.

“Okay,” the doctor called their attention. They both turned to face the monitor, still holding onto each other. “The baby appears to be doing fine. There doesn’t appear to be any distress. Heartbeat is normal for its size. Vitals are normal. It’s measuring well for fourteen weeks.” He turned to look at them. “It appears the bleeding and minor cramps were from the physical activity you did today. Is that something you usually do?”

Felicity bit her lip. “Uhh…. no. My friend convinced me to go. I normally try to get in like five sit ups every other day. Although, sometimes I can make it to ten. Those are good days.” She added a nod at the end.

The doctor continued to stare at her for a few more seconds. “Yeah, okay. That explains it. You’re fine and baby is fine. I’d like for you to come back in a couple days, though to make sure everything is going well. If you experience any more pain or find blood, please come in immediately. We don’t want to take any chances.”

Felicity nodded. “Yes, okay. I’ll do that. Thank you very much doctor.”

“I’m going to go talk to the nurse about your discharge papers. I’m done here. I’m glad everything turned out well.”

“Me too.” She grinned widely.

The doctor got up and walked out of the room, closing the door and leaving them alone.

Felicity sat up and scooted near the side of the bed where Oliver was. She gave him a hug, “Thank you for being here.”

Oliver wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the top of her head. “Where else would I be?” She moved out of his arms to look at him. He paused not sure how to let the words in his mind out. “So, I can take you home tonight. I think it would be good for me to stay with you for the next couple of days.”

Felicity was shaking her head before he had even finished his sentence. “Oliver, you don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that. The doctor said to take precaution. You didn’t have anybody to take you to the hospital tonight. You didn’t call anyone, because you were in here. Just let me be there for you. And, it’s not just for you. It’s my child I’m also trying to look out for.”

Felicity didn’t say anything. She just stared at him with wide eyes.

He let out the words the words he had been thinking about since he arrived at the hospital. The thought that had been floating around in his mind since he had received that phone call from Donna.

“Felicity…. Felicity, I think we should move in together.”

****_________** **

 


	12. Changes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was floored with the response to the last chapter. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Here's the next chapter. Happy Sunday! Or Monday. Whenever you read this. ;)

“ _What?_ ” was the only word Felicity found herself being able to say. Her already wide eyes had widened even more at that revelation—if that were even possible. Why was he saying this? Sure, she had thought about living in the loft they had visited earlier for a second. No longer than that. Because, why would she live with Oliver? They weren’t together. So why was he suggesting this now? “Why… why do you think that we should do that? I don’t think we should do that.”

Oliver let out a breath then got up from the chair. With his back to her, he ran his hands through his hair, then turned back to face her. “Felicity, I’ve been thinking about this since your mom called me. If your mother hadn’t called me, who would’ve been here with you? You came here by yourself. That wouldn’t have happened if we were living together.” He came to sit back down in the chair in front of her. “Look, I know that you’re independent, and you don’t need someone to take care of you, but just let me _be there_ for you. I was freaking out tonight when I heard that you were in the hospital and I had no idea about it. I didn’t know what was going on. All your mom had told me was that you were here. That was a good thirty minutes of freaking out. Felicity, you’re the mother of my child. We’re always going to be in each other’s lives. Just let me be there for my child and you. At least while you’re still pregnant.”

She didn’t know if it was her hormones, the compassionate tone in his voice, or his blue, blue eyes that always sucked her in, that caused her to easily say, “Okay.”

She saw Oliver exhale at her words. She didn’t know why she gave in so easily, but for the moment Felicity felt it was the right thing for her to do. For right now, she would allow herself to bask in the bright smile he gave her, and the smile she couldn’t stop from showing on her own face. The whole evening had been traumatic for her, and Oliver had been nothing but supportive. She hadn’t been in her right mind to call anyone after getting a hold of her mother. He made a valid point. Maybe it was a bright idea to live with someone while she was pregnant. She didn’t do much to ponder on what came afterwards. For now she would just focus on the fact that Oliver wanted to be there for her. He wanted to help her in every way he could. She felt cherished and important. And, yeah, it was mostly due to the fact they were having a kid together. But, he also kept stressing that he wanted to be there _for her_. No one but her mom had done that for her before. So, she was going to go for it. She was going to throw caution to the wind and just do what felt right. Felicity had spent a majority of her life being somewhat responsible, having to make up for her mom’s irresponsibility, and she had still wound up single and pregnant. So, at this point it didn’t matter to her. She was just going to go with what felt right and this, _felt right_.

A thought came into her head. “Um, I’m getting my own bathroom, right? Because I have to pee all the time.”

Oliver laughed. “Yeah, of course. Don't worry about it.”

“Okay, great. Because your child just loves to sit on my bladder, and I just have to go all the time.”

Oliver chuckled.

They heard a knock at the door interrupting them.

A nurse popped her head in. “Hi, just wanted to let you know your discharge paperwork is ready to be signed up at the front desk. You just need to sign them and then you’re ready to leave.”

“Okay, thank you,” Felicity responded.

The nurse nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Felicity turned to look at Oliver and said, “I’m going to change. Do you mind waiting outside?”

“Oh, yeah.” He got up from the chair and moved towards the door. “I’ll be right out here.” He left the room and closed the door behind him.

Felicity quickly changed back into her clothes. When she left the room, she found Oliver leaning against the wall, with both of his hands in his pockets. He stood up straighter when he saw her.

“Hey, you ready?” he asked.

She smiled at him. “Yes, I’m ready for my bed.” She looked up at him sheepishly. “And Big Belly Burger.”

He quirked his head to the side.

“I’m really hungry. Baby and I are hungry.”

Oliver laughed at her, then said, “Okay, let’s go.”

As Felicity signed her discharge papers, the receptionist looked at both of them and said, “You two make a lovely couple. Congratulations.”

That caused Felicity to pause. She looked up at the receptionist. “Oh, we… we’re not… um, we’re not together, together.”

The receptionist appeared surprised. “Oh, okay. Sorry about that. It’s just you two looked so close.”

“I mean, well his is the father. We’re just not together… or anything.” Felicity started laughing. “People do that now, you know. Two people can be not in a relationship and have a kid together. They don’t have to… be together… in a relationship. It just happens. You know.”

The receptionist stared at her with wide eyes, obviously taken back.

Oliver leaned into Felicity and spoke against her ear. “I think she gets it.”

Felicity gave a quick nod. “Right. Okay. Sorry about that. I think the day is just getting to me. It’s been pretty darn eventful.”

“We should go.” Oliver turned to the receptionist. “Thank you very much. I hope you have a good night.”

“Yeah, good night,” Felicity said.

“Uh, yeah. Good night. I hope everything goes well for you two,” the receptionist called out to them.

“Thank you!” Felicity said as they walked out of the hospital.

When they were outside, Felicity groaned. “Ugh, why do I do that?”

“It’s fine Felicity. Don’t stress out about it. It’s not good for you.”

She rubbed her face with her hands. “Okay, you’re right. Let’s go. Baby Nugget is starving. It does not like the hospital.”

“It doesn’t like the hospital?” Oliver asked incredulously.

Felicity just gave him a shrug.

“Felicity, the baby is the size of a lemon. How do you know it doesn’t like hospitals?”

“You’ve been on those websites again, haven’t you? You really like them.”

“That’s besides the point.”

“Hey, the baby is inside of me. I know things.”

They reached his car and Oliver opened Felicity’s door for her, before going around and getting in.

“Whatever. Let’s get going, because we--the baby and me--really want Big Belly Burger. And, baby nugget _does not_ like to be kept waiting.” **  
**

**__________**

 

After Big Belly Burger, they had gone back to Felicity’s house. They had settled into watching a movie, both of them lying on the couch.

Halfway through the movie, Felicity turned to look at Oliver and said, “You know, living together might not be so bad. I could get used to watching movies with you. You don’t talk a lot, which is great.”

Oliver smiled at her and said, “Me, too.”

**__________**

Felicity could feel someone watching her. That was what had woken her up. She felt warm and realized there were arms around her, and she was using a muscular--very muscular--chest as a pillow. She opened her eyes to find Sara standing by her coffee table, with her arms crossed over her chest and an eyebrow raised in question. Staring at her and Oliver, who were currently cuddled on the couch with just a throw pillow on them. At some point they had fallen asleep like that. 

Felicity sat up, removing herself from Oliver’s grasp.

“Ugh, what time is it?” Felicity asked quietly. “What are you doing here?”

Ignoring her question, Sara noted with a raised eyebrow, “You two look pretty cozy.”

“I knew it was a terrible idea to give you a copy of my key.” Felicity took the blanket off of herself and stood up. She turned around and covered Oliver with it. He was still soundly sleeping, uninterrupted by their current conversation. She began walking towards her room, motioning for Sara to follow. Once in there, she continued, “We must have fallen asleep at some point throughout the movie. I definitely don’t remember that happening.”

Sara shrugged. “Yea, okay. If you say so.” 

Felicity rubbed her eyes with her hands. Half in exasperation, half in sleepiness. “Sara, please stop. I know where you’re going with and I just want to say, stop. Because, it’s not happening. I promise you.” She pointed to her expanding belly. “This is as far as this will go.”

“Well, that’s forever. I’m still on the Olicity train.”

Felicity’s eyebrows shot up, eyes going wide. “I’m sorry, what?”

“The Olicity train. You know, Oliver, Felicity, Olicity.” She used both hands to demonstrate adding both of their names together.

Felicity shook her head. “Please stop. Now.”

“Whatever. You’ll thank me later.”

Felicity huffed. “Sara, I love you, but I think you’re wrong in this case.”

“Oh, I’m never wrong. But, for now, I’ll drop it and say hi to my little niece or nephew.” Sara lowered herself to be at eye level with Felicity’s stomach. “Good morning baby, this is your auntie Sara. I can see that you’re getting bigger. I’m excited for when you’ll finally be out and about. We’re going to have so much fun. And, you’re mom won’t be able to do anything about it.”

Felicity laughed. “Of course.”

Sara stood up and offered Felicity a smirk. “Which reminds me.” Sara slapped Felicity on her shoulder. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were in the hospital last night?”

“Ow!” Felicity rubbed her shoulder. “What? How did you find out?”

“Your mom texted me. She wants me to pick her up from the airport later on today.”

“Well, I didn’t tell anyone about it. I didn’t even tell Oliver about it. Only my mom. Wait, my mom got a hold of you? How does she have your phone number?”

“Oh, she asked for it when she was here. I didn’t think much of it.”

Felicity’s jaw dropped before rolling her eyes. “Did she just ask for everyone’s phone number while she was here? God. Is she just trying to infiltrate my life?”

“I don’t think that’s it. I think it may have to do more with the fact she and my dad are getting pretty cozy together.”

“Oh, God. Please don’t remind me about that.” Felicity moved to lean her head on Sara’s shoulder.

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry about it.” Sara patted Felicity’s back in a comforting manner.

Felicity moved back to look at her. “Okay, let’s make coffee. It’s too early for this conversation without coffee.”

“What?” Sara asked. “Is the thought of being my sister really that awful?”

Felicity could tell she was slightly hurt. She pursed her lips. “Sara, you know that’s not it. I already think of you like a sister.”

Sara let out a breath. “All right. Let’s go make you coffee.”

They both walked out of her bedroom, slowly making their way towards the kitchen. Felicity was hoping to not disturb Oliver, but that proved useless when they reached the living room and found him folding the throw blanket they had used.

“Hey,” he greeted both of them.

“Hi, Ollie,” Sara greeted back.

“Morning,” Felicity said.

“How are you feeling?” Oliver asked.  **  
**

“Much better. Everything feels back to normal,” she answered.

“That’s good.”

They both stared at each other for a few seconds before Sara spoke.

“Oh Ollie, why didn’t you let me know my best friend was in the ER?”

Oliver looked at Sara blankly. “Uh, I guess I forgot. I was a little preoccupied with making sure she was fine.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Oliver cleared his throat. “Well, I’m going to head out. I’ll talk to you later about what we decided yesterday?”

“Yep, later. We can talk later,” Felicity responded, well aware of Sara’s questioning eyes on her.

Oliver moved towards the front door. “Okay, bye,” he said as he opened and closed the door behind him.

Felicity took a deep breath.

“God, I swear if I hadn’t spoken, I would’ve drowned in the unresolved sexual tension between you two.”

Felicity’s head whipped to look at Sara. “ _What?!_ ”

“Oh, come on. You can’t be oblivious to it.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Sara.”

“Uh-huh, sure. I’ll let that go for now. But, onto the second topic, what was he talking about?”

Felicity walked into her kitchen and began taking out the necessary items to make coffee. Facing away from Sara, she said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sara walked up to stand in front of Felicity. “Spill it Smoak.” She crossed her hands over her chest.

Felicity pointedly ignored her question and continued with her task.

“I mean, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. But, we both know what happened last time.”

Felicity knew she had her there. She turned around to face Sara. “Fine.” She drummed on the counter, looking down at her fingers to avoid looking at Sara. “Um, Oliver asked me to move in with him.”

Sara’s eyes widened. “What? Wait… into the mansion? That might be a little weird, considering Moira doesn’t seem too fond of you.”

“Oh, no. Definitely not the mansion. I would’ve shot that down immediately. I haven’t even spoken to Moira since that disastrous dinner. I’m trying to avoid her as much as possible. Like if she never had to be around me? That would be great. Not that I hate her, because I don’t. I’m just not a big fan of her. But she is Oliver’s mother, so… there’s that. I do, however, keep in touch with Robert and Thea. Robert’s great. He’s always texting me, asking me how the baby is doing. He’s going to be a wonderful grandpa. And, Thea? Oh, man, she’s going to spoil this kid. I have to say, probably more than you. So, get ready for competition there.”

Sara raised an eyebrow. “Don’t change the subject.”

Felicity let out a breath. “Damn it.” She had really thought she would be able to veer away from the subject at hand. “He’s moving out of the mansion. And, that was his choice before he asked me. It was because he knows Moira and I are not getting along, and according to him, he wanted to be somewhere I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable being. He had asked me to go look at places with him yesterday, because he wanted my input, and he found this really awesome loft.” Her eyes lit up speaking about it. “I mean, it’s amazing. Last night when we were at the hospital, he said that he thought we should move in together. At least until the baby got here. That way if there was another emergency, he would be there and I wouldn’t be alone again. He presented a very good argument, and I was really hungry, so I said yes.”

“So, you’re moving in with Ollie?”

“Uh, yeah. I guess I am. Is that a bad thing? Maybe it’s the wrong decision. I mean, we’re not together and I have this apartment already.”

“Actually, I think it’s a smart idea. You need someone there with you Smoak, in order to protect my little niece or nephew. And, I can’t be there all the time, even though I wish I could. I guess, I just didn’t think he had it in him. He’s really changed. When are you moving in?”

“I have no idea.” Felicity grinned. “But, I am going to need the help of my best friend to pack up my apartment.” She moved to hug Sara.

“Oh, sure, now you want me.”

“Whatever. You love me and you know you’re going to help me anyways, so why fight it? Would you really leave your pregnant, defenseless friend alone?” Felicity pouted.

Sara scrunched her nose. “I really don’t think my friend is defenseless.”

Felicity clapped, because she knew she had Sara. “Okay, great. Now come and help me make breakfast. And by help, I mean make it while I watch.”

Sara laughed at that. “Okay, Smoak. I’ll give you a pass this time.” ** ** **  
******

**__________**

 

The next three weeks passed in a blur for Felicity. With the help of Sara, Nyssa, and even Oliver, her apartment was completely packed up. Felicity was thankful for the fact she was pregnant, because that meant she got to spend the majority of the time directing them in what boxes to put things in. However, that was enough to exhaust her. Before she knew it, it was moving day. Oliver had received the keys to the loft earlier in the week, after paperwork for it had taken a while to process. The two of them had managed to convince their friends to help them move. Well, they had bribed them with the promise of dinner. Either way, they were helping.

Felicity looked around the room, absentmindedly rubbing her rounded stomach. It was something that she found herself doing a lot these days. It just felt nice to her, to touch her growing baby. 

“So, where do you want this?” Sara asked, out of breath.

She was carrying a box labeled “Shoes.” Felicity had a lot of those, so it was completely justified even someone as fit as Sara would have trouble carrying them.

“Uh,” Felicity began, looking around the room again. She pointed to an open area near the front window and said, “I think over there is fine.”

Sara put down the box where she had been instructed, then made her way to stand next to Felicity. “So, what time is everyone else coming?”

“Well, Oliver said he would be here in an hour, about…” she checked her phone for the time, “an hour ago. I guess he’ll show up soon. He said Thea was going to be coming with him. And, I’m not sure when Tommy and Laurel will be here.”

At that moment, Nyssa came out of Felicity’s room carrying another box. “I think that this is officially the last of your shoes. Where do you want this?”

Felicity pointed to where the other box was. “Sorry,” she said with a smile. “But, if there’s one thing my mom taught me, it’s that a girl needs her shoes. Although, I could never wear the ones she did.” Felicity shook her head. “And, I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to wear mine.”

“How come?” Nyssa asked.

“I read the further you get into the pregnancy, there’ll be swelling and I just think my heels are not going to help with that. Plus, I don’t want to risk falling.”

“Have you started telling people at work?” Sara asked.

“No,” Felicity answered truthfully. “All the people that matter to me already know. That’s enough for me. Plus, everyone knows Oliver and the longer I can go without this getting out in the media, the better. I definitely don’t want the baby in the spotlight. But, it is getting hard and harder to wear clothes that don’t bring attention to my stomach. My own clothes are getting tighter, which means I need to start shopping for maternity clothes. But, I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that.”

“Well, maybe I can help with that.”

They all turned their heads to Thea and Oliver, who had quietly arrived. During the past few weeks, Oliver and Felicity had grown closer, that now Oliver felt comfortable just walking into her place. She also found him over at her apartment often, just to hang out with her and help her with whatever she needed. And, she found herself liking it. A lot.

Taking in the silence, Thea said, “I mean, if you want. No pressure.”

Felicity smiled at her. “Yeah, I’d really like that.”

Thea gave a smile of her own, with a nod. “Cool.”

“Hey,” Oliver greeted.

“Hi,” Felicity said, offering a smile just for him.

He returned it with a shy smile. It was one that always made her nervous, but in a good way. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sara, Thea, and Nyssa all share a look. But, she chose to ignore it--for now.

“Is everything in here ready to be loaded?” Oliver asked. “We picked up the moving truck on the way over.”

“Yeah, I think now we’re just waiting for Tommy and Laurel.”

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door followed by Tommy, Laurel, and Rebecca.

Catching sight of Sara, Rebecca immediately ran towards her, yelling out, “Autie Sawa!”

Sara caught her, and pulled her up to cradle her on her hip. “Hi, baby. How’s it going? You here to help?”

Rebecca only gleefully nodded in response.

Sara turned back to Laurel. “Still nothing?”

“Nope.” She rubbed her belly. “I don’t know why, but this kid just doesn’t want to come out.”

At this point, Laurel was one week past her due date. And, from their conversation a couple of nights ago, absolutely hating it.

“I really hope you don’t do that,” Felicity murmured to her belly, low enough that no one heard.

“All right then,” Tommy directed everyone’s attention to himself. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

**__________**

 

As they picked up the last of the boxes in the apartment, Felicity looked around the place one last time. She felt tears forming in her eyes at the thought of the place that had been her first official home. When she was in college, she had lived in the dorms the whole time, so she’s never had a place of her own. And now, she was leaving it. She had grown a lot within the last year she had been living in Starling. This was where she’d had movie nights with Sara, where she’d built relationships with friends she now considered family.

“Damn hormones,” she muttered, as tears began to fall.

“Talking to yourself again?” Sara asked from where she was leaning against the doorway.

Felicity turned to look at her.

Taking in the sight before her, she asked, “Hey, are you okay?” She moved closer to Felicity.

Felicity laughed and wiped at the tears on her cheek. “Uh, yeah. I’m totally fine. Just feeling sentimental, that’s all. It feels weird to be leaving this place.”

Sara hugged her. “Hey, it’ll be good.”

Felicity smiled. “Yeah, it will.”

Sara let go. “Okay, so Tommy and Oliver already took the truck, and Nyssa drove Laurel over, with Rebecca. Although, why Laurel wants to be a part of this, I have no idea. We can leave now.”

“Okay, I just have to drop off the keys with the manager.”

“Come on, let’s go then.”

With one last look around, Felicity turned off the light and closed the door. It was the end of a chapter in her life and a new one was about to begin. She took a deep breath, ready to embrace whatever came next.

**__________**

 

They had just finished bringing everything in and were now standing around. They had settled for only setting up the big furniture and leaving the small stuff for Felicity to go through at her own pace… at Felicity’s insistence. And, they all knew at this point not to go against what the pregnant lady said.

Tommy and Oliver were standing by the windows, with Oliver showing Tommy the expanse sight they had.

“Hey, do you mind showing me around?” Tommy asked. “I want to see where you’re going to be living.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Oliver responded.

Oliver guided him throughout the rooms upstairs, ending in the nursery. Oliver told Tommy about the plans he had for the room. And, after they just stood looking around the room, until Tommy broke the silence.

“So, um, what’s going on with you and Felicity?”

That caught Oliver off guard. “What?”

“The way you look at her… it’s unlike any way I’ve ever seen you look at a someone. What’s going on?”

Oliver let out a huff. “I don’t even know where to begin. I’m falling for her. Unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. I’ve always been the one to lead girls on, and I’ve never wanted anything serious. But, I don’t know what it is about her that makes me want serious.”

“Shit. You’re falling for her. Well, in your defense, Felicity has that quality about her. It’s impossible not to love her.”

Oliver laughed. “I just find myself wanting it all. I want the family to come home to. The picket fence. I never thought I’d want it, but now I do.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

Oliver shook his head. “I don’t think there’s anything you could tell me.”

“Yeah, there is. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of who you’ve become.” Tommy stood and pulled him in for a hug.

“Thank you.”

“Okay, come on. The girls are probably wondering where we are.”

They left the nursery and made their way downstairs. At the sound of them descending the stairs, Felicity looked up to them.

“There you two are. I was wondering if you had taken off and left us to organize everything.” She smiled brightly at Oliver.

Oliver returned her smile, equally as blinding.

Tommy leaned into him and whispered, “You are so done for.” He clapped Oliver on the shoulder.

“I’m okay with that.”

******__________** ** **

 

As they all sat around the new dinner table--Felicity, Oliver, Thea, Tommy, Laurel, Rebecca, Nyssa, and Sara--Felicity couldn’t help but feel content. This was her family. They were all eating dinner, and Felicity thought back to the contrast it brought when compared to the meals they’d shared at the beach house. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Where during those meals there was nothing but silence and tension, this meal was filled with warmth and jokes. Thinking back to that weekend, Felicity was happy she’d gotten over her fears. Oliver was not her father. That was something Oliver continuously reminded her with his actions.

Laurel excusing herself to use the bathroom brought Felicity out of her thoughts and to the people around her. A noise suddenly interrupted the conversation. Or rather one word.

“Fuck!”

Everyone collectively turned to look in the direction of the bathroom. Tommy was the first one to move. He ran towards the bathroom, with everyone else following. He reached the bathroom before them, not thinking twice about opening the door.

“Holy shit! Uh, okay. Okay.” He came back out and addressed everyone. “So, uh, Laurel’s water just broke.” He looked at Felicity and Oliver. “Sorry about that. Happy housewarming, right?” He went for a light chuckle that turned into a nervous laugh.

From inside the bathroom, they heard Laurel say, “Honey, this is not the time to freak out. I can’t have you doing that.”

“Right. Right.”

“Tommy, I need to go to the hospital.”

“Yeah, you do.”

There was silence for a few seconds before they heard Laurel say, “Tommy! That’s you.”

“Oh!” Tommy helped Laurel out of the bathroom.

As they passed by Felicity and Oliver, Laurel said, “Sorry about your bathroom.”

“Um, don’t worry about it,” Felicity told her quietly, because really, what else could she say?

As they got closer to the door, they heard a tiny voice. “Momma. Daddy. Where you going?”

“Crap,” Tommy said. “Uh…”

Laurel answered for him. “Baby, we have to go to the hospital. Your baby sister is going to be born.”

Rebecca gasped. “Reallys?” **  
**

When Laurel nodded, the little girl clapped her hands in joy. Laurel addressed Sara and Nyssa. “Can you take her?”

“Yeah,” Nyssa answered. “We’ve got her.”

“Thanks. Okay babe, let’s get going.”

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go. Oh, um where are my car keys?” He began to pat himself down.

“Honey, I’ve got those. You didn’t drive the car here.”

“Oh, that’s right. I didn’t.”

Feeling Tommy’s franticness, Felicity looked over at Oliver. What for? She wasn’t sure, but she knew he would be able to do something to help Tommy. Oliver seemed to catch onto her concern easily and ran with it.

“Hey, Tommy? Why don’t we drive you?”

“Okay,” he answered, voice cracking.

Laurel looked at both Oliver and Felicity, and mouthed a “Thank you.”

They all quickly situated themselves and made their way to the hospital. Oliver, Felicity, Tommy, and Laurel in one car; Sara, Nyssa, Thea, and Rebecca in a second car. When they arrived at the hospital, they were all quickly rushed towards the back. The nurses up at the front had put Laurel in a wheelchair. The nurse had begun to usher Felicity and Oliver towards the waiting room, when Laurel intercepted.

“Actually, I’d really like it if you came along with me,” she said to Felicity, in-between pants from her contractions.

Felicity felt panic, her eyes widening. “Umm…” because she really didn’t know what else to say. Nothing else was coming to mind. She looked to Oliver for guidance, and Laurel caught onto it, taking it  to mean something else.

“You can come, too,” she said to Oliver.

“What?” he asked, taken completely by surprise. “Are you… are you sure?”

Another contraction hit Laurel. “Yeah. Um, Tommy’s not really the great with this, if you couldn’t already tell. He was a mess for Rebecca’s birth. He’s better right now, but I can’t have that right now.”

They all turned to look at Tommy who was talking on the phone, talking to Laurel’s parents. He still looked scared out of his mind.

Laurel spoke again. “He’ll get there eventually, but until then, I just need someone who’s going to be calm.”

Well, Felicity couldn’t say no to that. So, she took a deep breath to subside some of her panic and said, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Oliver asked her, eyebrow raised. ** ** **  
******

“Yeah,” she said.

Laurel smiled at her, relief clear on her face. “Thank you.” She looked at the nurse and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

The nurse directed them towards one of the delivery rooms. Felicity and Oliver trudged behind a little slower.

“Don’t you think this is a little weird?” Felicity whispered to Oliver.

“This is a lot weird,” Oliver answered back, looking around.

“Well, at least we’ve got each other.” Felicity held out her hand to him.

Oliver smiled and took it without further thought.

************__________** ** ** ** ** **

 

Once inside the delivery room, Laurel continued to have contractions, but they seemed to be coming in closer and closer together. Tommy was obviously a wreck, attempting to be supportive, but failing. Felicity felt unsure of what to do, standing next to Laurel, but still tried to offer her encouraging words. And Oliver, just stood off to the corner, clearly feeling out of his element. That was something Felicity didn’t think she’d ever really seen. He’d always exuded confidence in everything he did. She really hoped he wouldn’t be like Tommy while she gave birth.

Laurel screamed as another contraction hit her. Tommy yelled out a bit, as Laurel grasped his hand a little too tightly. It was too chaotic in the room.

The doctor announced it was time for Laurel to push. In that moment she saw everything click into place in Tommy’s head. In the next second he began giving Laurel _actual_ comforting words, wiping away at the sweat that had formed on her forehead. It really shocked Felicity.

Laurel’s only response was, “There he is,” before yelling again as she pushed.

The doctor told Laurel all they needed was one more big push, and Laurel complied. At that point, Felicity made the mistake of looking at the wrong place. She watched, wide eyed, as the baby girl was born. And, she found herself screaming loudly alongside Laurel as the baby came out.

**__________**

 

Oliver and Felicity found themselves sitting in an empty area of the waiting room. Neither of them had spoken since they’d been instructed to leave the delivery room, so the baby could be cleaned up. Felicity had been staring out in front of her vacantly for the last ten minutes. It was beginning to worry Oliver.

“Felicity?” he tried, but didn’t get an answer from her. So, he tried again. “Hey, Felicity.” Nothing. He spoke a little louder. “Felicity.”

That seemed to have woken her up from her trance. But it had been a bad move on Oliver’s part, because in the next second she punched him in the arm.

“Ow!” he exclaimed, immediately rubbing his arm. He’d like to say the punch had hurt him because she’d caught him off guard, but the truth was that Felicity had thrown a good punch.

“Why the hell did you get me pregnant?!”

“What?” he asked. He hadn’t expected that.

“Oh, God. Oh, God. Did you see what just happened in there?!” She motioned towards the delivery room with her hand. “I can’t do that. That’s it. I can’t have this baby. I need to figure out a way for the baby not to come out. I can’t give birth.”

“I think it’s a little late for that. Felicity, I think you’re overreacting.”

Felicity scoffed. Well, that had obviously been the wrong thing to say.

“Overreacting? You don’t have to give birth to a human. So, until you do, you keep your mouth shut.”

Oliver let out a breath, because she had him there. “Okay. I have no idea how any of this works and the last hour traumatized me beyond belief, but I’ll help you in whatever way I can. I promise. I’m going to be there with you the whole time, and I won’t act like Tommy just did.”

“Damn it Oliver! Don’t be nice to me when I’m being a jerk to you.”

Oliver laughed. “We’re going to be fine. You’re going to be fine. The baby is going to be fine.”

Felicity leaned her head against Oliver’s shoulder and whispered, “Thanks.”

And, in that moment, it was easy for him to turn to kiss the top of her head. So easy, that he did so before his brain could catch up with what he was doing. It had come naturally to him.

“Any time.”

**__________**

Felicity feld content. She felt supported. Oliver had once again managed to calm her down during her freakout. It was something he was getting incredibly good at. She hadn’t acknowledged the kiss he had given her. She had chosen to just be in the moment. She didn’t want to think too much into the butterflies that his kiss had given her. Butterflies that were light and fluttering in her stomach. A thought crept into her head. Maybe they weren’t just butterflies. She remembered reading online that this was how it felt when the baby kicked.

Felicity moved her hand on her stomach, and sure enough she felt a light tap against her hand. Her breath caught in her throat. She reached for Oliver’s hand and put it in the same spot hers had previously been. She held eye contact with him, smiling, and saw when confusion turned to recognition.

“Is that?” he asked for confirmation.

“Uh-huh. I think. I’m pretty sure.”

“Oh, wow.”

She smiled widely at him, feeling incredibly happy. She knew this same joy was reflected in him as well. A wave of love flowed through her for her unborn child. Oliver brought his other hand to her cheek, wiping away a tear she hadn’t noticed. He laughed and she found herself laughing, too. She had felt content before, but that paled in comparison to what she felt now. There was nothing that could bring her down from this.

 

 

 


	13. Findings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few discoveries are made all across the board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, gosh. It has been way too long. Sorry about the wait. The holidays were a little hectic, and when I finally was able to finish this chapter, my laptop broke. But, everything is well now. (: 
> 
> Thank you for all of your comments and kudos! They definitely brighten my day! :D 
> 
> Also, this one is a monster. Coming in at a little over 11K. So hopefully that will make up for the time I made you wait? 
> 
> A big thank you to my beta, Lo, who helped tremendously with this chapter. 
> 
> Please don't read the end notes, for they have spoilers to what happens in the chapter. 
> 
> Lastly, this is pretty fluffy. Enjoy. Happy reading!

Felicity looked through the racks, coming across a yellow, flowery sundress. Felicity had finally gotten to the point in her pregnancy where none of her clothes could stretch out further, and she had to finally buy maternity clothes. So naturally, she had called up Thea to take her. She picked up the dress and showed Thea, silently asking for her thoughts.

Thea took in the dress, then said, “I like it. Let’s add that to the ‘try on’ pile.” She took the dress from Felicity’s hands and added it to the pile in her hand. “Okay, I think we have enough things to head over the fitting room. Also, it’s getting too heavy for my arms to carry.”

Felicity laughed at that. She put her hand on Thea’s shoulder. “Thea, thank you for doing this with me.”

Thea smiled at Felicity. “Aw, Felicity. I should be thanking you for letting me do this for you. Plus, I can't be letting my niece or nephew walk around unfashionable, even in the womb.” She scrunched up her nose to show she was joking, and added a wink for extra measure. Thea led them towards the dressing rooms. “Okay, go try these on,” Thea instructed Felicity and gave her the pile of clothes.

Felicity did as she was told and went into one of the rooms. She quickly took her shirt off, in favor of one in the pile. She stared at herself in the mirror for a second. It still caught her by surprise sometimes, how much her body had changed in the last few weeks. Her stomach continued to round out and “pop out,” well, at least that was what she’d read on blogs and websites. She finally looked at the shirt lying on the top of the pile and snorted. She quickly changed into the shirt and stepped out of the dressing room.

“Where did you find this?” She pointed to the graphic on the shirt she was wearing, reading “Ice, Ice;” block letters stacked on top of each other, ending right on her protruding belly. She couldn’t contain her laughter.

Thea smirked and stood up from her spot on the chairs in front of the fitting rooms. “I thought you would enjoy it.”

Thea’s answer caused her to have another fit of laughter. Out of the corner of her eye she could see photographers, piling outside the boutique, waiting for them to come out. It was causing a commotion and she could see some of the shoppers inside already catching on to who she was. They were attempting to take pictures of her on their phone. But, they weren’t very sly about it. At all.

A few weeks ago when Oliver and Felicity had been at the hospital, after Laurel had given birth, someone had taken a picture of them. They were both staring into each other’s eyes, with their hands on her stomach. They were both marveling over the fact that their baby was making its presence known. They hadn’t been aware that they were being watched, let alone having their picture taken. It had been such a private moment between the two of them, that had ended up on the front cover of many tabloids the very next day. Felicity had managed to take down a couple websites for a whole 24 hours. Ever since then, Felicity had been a non stop staple in the tabloids. They just _would not_  leave her alone. And she didn’t understand why. She was a nobody! And she liked it that way. But, of course she know why it was. she had managed to get knocked up by one billionaire Oliver Queen. Felicity found it annoying to no end. People at work had also begun to treat her differently. Everything that was happening was exactly what she had not wanted when she realized she had gotten pregnant with Oliver Queen's’ child. She had never wanted any of the attention she was now receiving.

Moira had taken it as her mission to spin the story in way that would benefit the Queen name in the bets way. Oliver had told Felicity Moira would be putting out a press release stating the two of them had been in a whirlwind of a romance that had ended with the pregnancy, and now they were committed to each other and their child. All fabrication. Felicity had blown up at Oliver upon hearing that.

~~

_“What?!” Felicity yelled. She paced in front of the fireplace, while Oliver sat on the couch, having just informed her of Moira’s intent to release a press release._

_He stayed quiet, waiting for her to say something else. Waited for her to take in everything he had just said._

_She paused to look at him and opened her mouth before closing it again. Still at a loss for words. She scratched her head, attempting to come up with something to say. “Why? Why would she do that? That’s not true!”_

_Oliver let out a breath. “I know. She just thought it would be easier to explain why we’re living together. You have to admit, this is an unconventional situation.”_

_“Oliver! Living together was your idea! And, what about just telling everyone we’re two friends who are living together for the time being. I’m not ashamed of the fact my baby was an accident. So it was a result of a one night stand. It’s 2016. Life happens!”_

_“Felicity… it doesn’t really work that way. Not when it comes to the media and not when it comes to the Queens. Once the baby is born and you move out, we’ll put out a statement that we decided to end things, but will remain friends to raise our child together. You know, the usual stuff. My mom thinks it’s the best route.”_

_“And you agree with her?!”_

_“As much as I know you don’t get along, she has a point. She knows how to manipulate the media. She’s been doing this for years. She’s just trying to save us from the most controversy.”_

_Felicity found herself unable to argue with that. “Ugh. Fine. But, I’m not talking to them. At all.”_

_“That’s fair.”_

_“And, if they piss me off, I’ll flip them off. I’m pregnant, so I can do that and they can’t do shit about it.”_

_He smirked at her. “Okay.”_

_Felicity let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Okay.”_

~~

And now, paparazzi followed her everywhere.

“How do you deal with it?” she asked Thea.

“What?” Thea looked at her quizzically.

Felicity motioned towards the front with her head.

“Oh, them. I don’t know. I guess at this point I’m so used to them that I just don’t notice them anymore.”

“Hmmm…. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it. I never wanted the attention. I don’t want the baby to grow up with this.”

“I know.” Thea lay her hands on Felicity’s shoulders. “That’s how I know you’re going to be a great mom.” She pulled her in for a hug.

“Aw, Thea.” Felicity felt tears threatening to come out. She sniffled, “I swear, I’m not sad. I’m really happy and touched right now. It’s just these damn hormones. The pregnancy is messing with my body.”

“Felicity, it's okay to be emotional over me. I have that effect on people.”

“Ha ha. Okay, let’s get through the rest of the clothes, because I’m getting hungry.”

“Sounds good. We don’t want a hungry Felicity. She gets mean.”

“Damn right.”

**__________**

“Pink or red?” Nyssa asked Felicity, holding out a rose in each hand.

Felicity pursed her lips, weighing out her options. Nyssa had asked her to come with her to choose flowers for her proposal to Sara. Nyssa had worriedly asked Felicity if it would be smart to propose to Sara in front of their friends and family, with the possibility of Sara saying “no.” But, Felicity had quickly squashed that fear down, telling Nyssa she’d never seen anyone look at her the way Sara looked at Nyssa. Adding on to that, even though Sara pretended not to be, she was a complete sap when it came to romance. Well, at least since she’d met Nyssa. Or at least that’s what Laurel always told her. Either way, there was no way to doubt that Sara was head over heels in love with Nyssa.

“Both,” she answered Nyssa.

“Okay, sounds good to me.” Nyssa gestured to the florist behind the counter that she was choosing both. “Should I add on another flower?” she asked again.

Felicity laughed. “Nyssa, you don’t need more. I think you’re already a little overboard with the ten dozen. Come on, let’s go pay. _Before_ you buy any more flowers.” Felicity pushed Nyssa up towards the front counter, where the cashier was waiting for them.

“Thank you, Felicity. I don’t think I could pull this off without you.” Nyssa offered a genuine smile.

“I’m sure you would’ve. I just don’t think it would’ve turned out as great as this will.”

Soon enough, they were done and walking back towards their car.

“Okay, so flowers are done,” Felicity said, taking out her tablet from her purse to cross off another item off of her “Engagement To Do List.” “Next is the caterer. Oh! Does that mean we get to eat different food to pick out a menu?”

Nyssa laughs at Felicity’s hopeful look. “I already have the menu picked out. I just need to finalize it with them, but we can definitely grab some food.”

“Okay, good. Because I’m hungry now. I still think I can manage to get food from the caterer. You’d be surprised at what you can get away with just because you’re pregnant.”

Nyssa had planned an elaborate proposal that would lead into an engagement party with their family and closest friends. Nyssa had rented out a penthouse building just for the proposal, with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Starling City skyline. Nyssa had spent time looking at different buildings that would work specifically with what she had planned. Since their friends and families would be there for the proposal, the penthouse had a staircase that led to an open landing, overlooking where Nyssa would be proposing; surrounded by roses, petals, and candles. Everything had been perfectly thought out, with Felicity helping finalize things and offer options to Nyssa.

The proposal would take place the following day, so at this point, the two of them were just taking the day to make sure everything turned out well.

“So, how are you planning on getting Sara there without suspecting anything?” Felicity asked. “Because we both know she can smell bullshit.”

Nyssa laughed. “Oh, Felicity. I’ve been with her long enough to know how to keep her mind off of things.”

“Did that mean what I think it meant?”

“You can take it however you want," Nyssa answered with a wink. 

“Oh, gosh.”

**__________**

“They’re here!” Felicity whisper yelled. She had just received a text from Nyssa stating they had arrived to the building. Nyssa had decided to tell Sara she had needed to stop by a client’s home in order to go over some personal training plans.

Felicity herded everyone up stairs and away from the the food tables, hidden out of sight from the entrance.

She stumbled onto Sara’s dad, heavily making out with her mom. “Oh, God! There’s no way I can unsee that.” She covered her face with her hands.

“Oh, sorry honey. Didn’t see you there,” her mom answered, stepping away from Quentin, but keeping their hands together. After Nyssa had asked for Sara’s hand and informed Quentin she would be throwing an engagement party, he had jumped at the chance of inviting her mom. They had been officially dating since they had first met three months ago. And, they were still going strong, if their makeout session was any indication.

“Obviously,” Felicity muttered, rolling her eyes. “All right, please head upstairs. Nyssa said they’re heading up.”

They moved to head upstairs with the rest of crowd. As she continued to herd people, Tommy, Laurel, and Oliver stopped by her momentarily.

Tommy smirked at her. “I’m never going to get tired of that,” he said, referring to her Donna and Quentin.

“Knock it off,” Laurel said, slapping him on the chest. “Ignore him, please,” she looked at Felicity sympathetically. Because if there was anyone who understood the awkwardness, it was her. “Come on, it’s one of our only nights away from our kids. Let’s make sure you make it out alive.” Laurel pulled Tommy with her and they made their way upstairs.

“How are you doing?” Oliver asked her, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

He was always so genuine with her, always willing to help her without being asked. And, if she was honest with herself, it caused her to fall for him a little more each time. Ever since having moved with him, she had noticed her attraction to him went far beyond physical. It was in everything he did and said. But, even though she had come to the realize she was falling for Oliver, she knew she wouldn’t act on it. There were too many ifs. If they started something and it ended badly, what happened to their baby? She had to think of her child first. She wanted to make sure the baby grew up with two loving individuals, and if that meant putting aside her own feelings, she would do that. She was a mom now. She came second.

“I’m exhausted. I need my best friends to hurry up and get engaged, so I can go home and sleep. Or at least take off these damn shoes. I don’t know why I keep wearing heels, when I just know my feet are going to get tired quickly.”

Oliver laughed. “Well, you brought a pair of flats with you, right?”

“Yeah, except I left them in the car.”

“I’ll go grab them during the party.”

She tilted her head and looked at him. “Thank you.” Her phone buzzed with a notification that Nyssa and Sara were in the elevator. She grabbed Oliver by the bicep and said, “Come on, they’re closer.”

Felicity dimmed the lights on their way up the stairs, and quietly waited upon reaching the landing. They heard the door open downstairs, directly below where they were all standing.

“Nyssa?” Sara asked. They hadn’t entered the penthouse yet. “No one _lives here_. Please explain to me what is going on?”

“Sara. Just come inside. I’ll explain everything in there.”

“No, explain it to me now.”

Felicity was pretty sure Sara was currently crossing her arms across her chest, and rolled her eyes at the idea.

“Please?” Nyssa pleaded.

“Fine, but it better be a good…”

Sara faltered, and Felicity knew she had caught sight of the flowers and candles. She came into view, before turning around to face Nyssa. Felicity let out a sigh of relief at the fact Sara had not looked up to find them all standing. Nyssa had planned it perfectly, knowing Sara would be too distracted by the decorations, that she would not look at any direction but Nyssa’s.

“Nyssa, what is this?”

Felicity knew her friend well enough to know she wasn’t asking, because she truly didn’t know. She was asking for affirmation. Nyssa then came into view and took hold of Sara’s hands.  

“Sara, from the moment I met you, I knew you would be the one for me.”

Sara’s jaw dropped. “Nyssa,” she whispered.

Nyssa dropped down to one knee and one of Sara’s hand flew to her mouth. “You are _not_ doing this right now.”

“Yes, I am. Now shut up so I can propose to you.”

Sara giggled at that. “Okay, continue.”

Felicity could see tears already forming in Sara’s eyes.

“You came into my life and turned it upside down. But, it’s always been for the better. You have challenged me in ways I never thought imaginable. I have accomplished so much with your constant encouragement...”

She felt Nyssa’s words speak to her and she turned to look at Oliver, only to find him already staring at her. The air felt heavy around her, caused by the intensity in his eyes, and she was unable to look away from him.

“And, I know I’ll be able to accomplish much more with you by my side. I love you so much. I promise to bring you as much happiness as you’ve brought me, for the rest of our lives. If you’ll have me. So, now I ask you, in front of our family and friends...”

At that Sara head snapped up to everyone. She let out a half gasp, half laugh.

“Will you marry me?” Nyssa held out an engagement ring, with an emerald cut diamond, surrounded by a line of smaller diamonds, on a simple band.

“Yes,” Sara whispered, hand still over her mouth.

Nyssa was up in an instant, kissing Sara and wrapping her arms around her.

Cheers broke out around Felicity and she snapped out of whatever had just happened between her and Oliver. She turned away from him and joined in with others, clapping and shouting in joy.

For the rest of the night, Felicity thought about the pull she had felt to him when they were looking at each other. It was something she had not experienced before. During those moments, her baby had been very active, doing somersaults in her stomach. She felt his eyes on her throughout the night. No matter if they were in the same group or not. True to his word, he had gone down to the car to get her flats, so she could take off her heels. All of these thoughts were making her questions the choice she had been adamant in making. Her heart was beginning to feel something strong for him, and she could no longer deny this. However, she had to think things logically for their child. She had to keep reminding herself of this. No matter where her heart was at, she wouldn't risk her child growing up anywhere near the way she had. She already loved her child too much for that.

It was nearing midnight when Oliver came to stand by her.

"Hey," he said in greeting, smiling at her with that smile that always made butterflies act up in her tummy.

And, she couldn't help herself in returning with a smile of her own. "Hi."

"Are you ready to go? It's getting late, and you must be exhausted. Wearing out your body can't be good for you or the baby."

She tilted her head at his words, because how could she not fall deeper for him. He was so caring, not just towards their baby--which she found incredibly attractive--but towards her as well. She'd never had anyone care about her that much. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve someone like him "Yeah, I'm beyond ready to go, Let me just say bye to Sara and Nyssa."

She looked around the room to look for them. At this point, most of the guests had gone home. Her mom and Quentin had left pretty early on out. There reason for leaving early was something she definitely did not want to think about. Her mom was taking a flight back home tomorrow, and she had promised to get breakfast with her before she did. Laurel and Tommy had also cut out, claiming they were tired, but Felicity knew that they really just missed their kids. For as much as they claimed missing moments where it was just the two of them, she knew they loved being with their children much more. She briefly wondered if she and Oliver would be like that too, once the baby came.

Finally she found her two friends and made her way to them. "Hey you two, Oliver and I are going to head out." She gave each of them a hug. "I'm so happy for the two of you. I'm glad I was able to be a part of this."

"Thank you Felicity," Nyssa said. "I could not have done any of this without you."

"Hey," Sara began, "Maybe one day soon we'll be celebrating you and your significant other." She wagged her eyebrows a couple of times at Felicity for emphasis.

Felicity felt a blush make its way onto her cheeks. "It is far too late to get into that conversation with you. Let's save it for another day, okay? Lunch next week?"

Sara sighed. "Yeah, let's do that."

Felicity had been open and honest to Sara about her feelings towards Oliver. Because, what was the point in hiding it from her best friend, who had been the one to set them up in the first place?

With that, she left to find Oliver again. Making her way around the room, she found him standing by the door, looking at his phone. He looked up when she reached him.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

He helped her into her coat and they made their way out, with Felicity continuing to fight the somersaults in her stomach. And these were definitely not the baby.

**__________**

Felicity hurriedly rushed into the diner, running late for breakfast with her mom. She had woken up late, which had thrown off her whole schedule. When she had walked out of the apartment building, making her way towards the parking structure next door, she had been bombarded with paparazzi. That was definitely something she would not mind giving up.

Felicity found her mom sitting in one of the booths, and walked towards them. "Hey," she offered in greeting, sliding into her side of the booth. Her bump caused a little bit of uneasiness, but she was able to maneuver well enough.

"Hi, honey,” her mom greeted. “I ordered you some coffee.” She motioned to the cup in front of Felicity.

“Thanks,” she said, taking a sip, but immediately disgusted by the taste. “Ugh, what is this?”

“It’s decaf, Felicity.”

“It tastes like crap.”

“ _Felicity_ ,” her mother scolded. “You are pregnant, you cannot be having regular coffee.”

“Quite the contrary mom. I can still have coffee, I just can’t have the amount I’m used to.”

Felicity raised her hand, gaining the attention of the waitress, motioning for her to come by.

“I’m just looking out for my grandchild,” Donna muttered, taking a sip of her own coffee.

“Is that decaf?” Felicity asked her mother, accusingly with her eyebrows raised.

“No, but then again, I’m not pregnant. I already did that. Not going there again.”

“Ha ha.”

The waitress stopped by their booth. “What can I get you?”

She looked to be in her mid-fifties, if Felicity was guessing correctly.

“Hi, can you please take this away from me?” Felicity answered, handing over the cup of decaf. “And, could I please get a cup of regular coffee?”

“Sure thing, sweetie,” the waitress answered her, before making her way back towards the kitchen, with the cup of decaf coffee in hand.

“Besides the coffee, how is your day going so far?” her mom asked.

"Ugh, there was paparazzi outside my building this morning. Being pregnant with a billionaire's baby is not fun at all. I know other people feel like it would be the best thing to ever happen to them, but..."

"You have never been other people, Felicity," her mom said, grasping her hand in her own.

"Oh, mom." Felicity dabbed at the tears that had begun streaming down her face. "These damn hormones," she muttered.

"Honey, it's worth it. So worth it. And, when they turn twenty and move away from home, you can use it to get them to do anything." She raised an eyebrow at Felicity.

Felicity tilted her head, remembering multiple conversations with her mom from when she was younger. Some guilting her into coming home, to visit the mom that had spent 20 hours in labor, before Felicity had decided to come out. Because, according to her mom, Felicity had never been one to have people tell her what to do with her life. Beginning from before she was born.

Felicity laughed a full body laugh. Her mom knew how to make her feel better. "Thanks mom."

"You're welcome. So, how are things going for you and Oliver?"

The waitress came by with a cup of coffee and to take their orders.

Felicity fixed her coffee with cream and sugar, took a sip, and let out a sigh in relief. "I don't know mom. Oliver, he's... wonderful. In about a million different ways. He's gone above and beyond what I could have ever hoped for. He's kind, caring, and..." She heard her mom gasp.

"Felicity. You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"What?" she asked breathless, and taken a little off guard.

"I can tell in the way you talk about him, and the way you were lit up around him last night."

“Mom, you were too busy with your tongue down Quentin’s throat. How did you have the time to observe at how I looked with Oliver around?”

“A mom is always hyper aware of their child. No matter where we are. You’ll learn soon enough. But, you’re clearly not ready for this conversation yet. When you get there, let me know, okay? I’d really love to hear what’s going on through your head.”

“Thanks, mom. But, enough about me. What’s new with you?”

“Well, actually, part of the reason I wanted to catch you today was to talk to you about something. Things between Quentin and I are starting to get serious.”

“Yeah, I could tell last night. With images that I wish I could unsee,” Felicity muttered.

“About that. Quentin asked me to move in with him,” she said quietly.

Felicity spit out her coffee. “What?!” She grabbed a couple of napkins and wiped the mess she had made on the table and herself.

“I said that Quentin asked--”

“No, mom, I heard you the first time. Are you considering it?”

“I don’t know. It’s been a while since I’ve found myself in a serious relationship.”

“Yeah, I know. What about your job?”

“I talked about that with Quentin. He said he makes enough for the both of us. And, honey,” she reached across the table to take Felicity’s hand, “I’d be closer to you and my grandchild.”

Felicity looked at their joined hands, before looking back up at her mom. “Okay, mom, if this is what you want, I’m supporting you. No matter how much it still weirds me out that you two are dating--not the point. You deserve to be happy.” Felicity smiled at her mom.

Her mom returned that smile, face shining with pure happiness. “Thank you sweetie.”

Their food arrived and they dug in. And, for that moment in time, Felicity felt like everything was right in the world.

**__________**

He turned to look up at the ceiling. He kept tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. He was exhausted. He rolled over to his side and saw that it was two in the morning. He really needed to catch some sleep. He and Felicity had a doctor’s appointment at nine. They were going to finally find out what they were having. He wondered if there would be a small pigtailed little girl running around with his eyes. Or a little boy with her intellect and his ability to get into so much trouble. He wondered who his child would grow up to be. Would he raise hell like he and Tommy did growing up? He hoped not. But really, he just wanted a healthy baby. That was what mattered most.

He heard a noise downstairs and decided to go see what it was. It wasn’t like he would be getting any sleep anyways. When he reached the top of the railing, he found Felicity sitting on the couch watching TV, eating what appeared to be ice cream She had her hair up in a messy bun, and was wearing PJs with an oversized tshirt that was hanging off of her shoulder. In that moment, she took his breath away. He found everything about her fascinating. He couldn’t think of a time when he’d been this interested in someone. Sadly, not even when he was with Laurel. He’d been the worst boyfriend when he was with her; and he really didn’t know why she had stayed with him as long as she did. He definitely hadn’t deserved it.

But, at least she had found Tommy. If he were being honest with himself, he’d always known Tommy had a thing for Laurel. He just hadn’t done shit about it. He’d gone on pretending as if he didn’t know. But, that’s who he had been at that time. Thankfully, he’d changed since then.

He reached the bottom step and walked towards Felicity. She looked up to see him, and he had the satisfaction of her eyes widening at the sight of him. He hadn’t put on a shirt when he decided to come down.

“Hey,” he greeted, smiling at her. He knew she wasn’t unaffected by him. It was something that had been clear to him since that first night. But, he never commented on it because she always acted like she didn’t care. He still enjoyed it. It was only fair, since he did his own perusal of her every once in awhile. He had managed to keep it well hidden. At least he hoped he was able to. Although, it wasn’t that difficult, since she was already so engrossed in what she was doing and her own thoughts. No matter what, she always gave her full attention to whatever she was doing at that time.

“Hey,” she answered him. “What are you doing up right now?”

“I couldn't sleep. What about you?”

She huffed out. “I couldn't get comfortable and I kept getting up to pee. The baby sits right on my bladder, so I just have to go all the damn time. Then, right when I finally got comfortable, I got hungry. So, I came down here for a snack.”

“And you chose ice cream?” he questioned.

“Actually, I ate two sandwiches. You missed those. This is just desert.”

“Well, darn. I should’ve come down sooner.” He grinned at her and she reciprocated with her own.

“Also, I might be a little anxious about tomorrow. Or rather today.” She looked at him sheepishly.

“Me, too.”

She beamed at that revelation and he felt something stir within him. “So, what are you watching?” he asked, motioning to the TV.

“I’m watching Star Trek. The original series.” She shrugged. “It’s just something that I like to watch every once in awhile. It’s just something that is comforting. It's my comfort show. My mom never understood the show, but she bought the DVDs for me, because she knew I loved it.”

“She’s a great mom.”

“How do you know?” Felicity inquired curiously.

“Because she raised you.” The comment was out of his mouth before he could think about it. He saw her breath catch and her eyes widening a fraction at the revelation. Before she could say anything, he changed the subject to safer ground. “So, what’s going on right now?”

Her eyes lit up at that, as she went into a full explanation of everything that was happening. And, although he really didn’t care for the show, watching her enthusiasm was enough for him.

After explaining in detail what was going on, she looked at him and said, “But you probably don’t really care.”

“I care about what you care about,” he said easily. Because it was true. He cared about everything when it came to her. He wanted to know everything about it.

She stared at him for a few seconds, as if she was having a difficult time believing him. He noticed a light flush making itself present on her cheeks. He knew he needed to stop making those comments, before he completely freaked her out. He knew that she wasn’t ready to hear them, but he just couldn’t help himself. However, he had to stop himself, because he knew she wasn’t there yet. Not where he was at, anyway. He on the other hand, was completely taken by her. And, he didn’t really know where to go from here. She’d continuously been clear that they’ll only ever be friends, and if that’s all he gets, he’ll make due with it. He knew they’d always be in each others’ lives no matter what, because of their child. He also knew that she could easily cut herself out of that equation, and that was something he didn’t want. Because, not having her in his life would make it a little dimmer. She’s become sunshine to him, brightening his life in ways he didn’t think possible before. He didn’t want to go back to a life without daily interactions with her. They stayed in silence for the next few minutes, watching the show. He could feel Felicity staring at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her staring at him. he knew she wanted to say something, but not doing so.

“Whatever you’re thinking, just say it.” He looked at her, raising one eyebrow, waiting.

He could see it caught her off guard. “What? How do you know I wanted to ask something?”

“You’ve got that crinkle in your forehead.”

“What?” she asked again. This time her eyebrows shot up.

He smiled. “You do that when something is bothering you.” He added, “It’s just something I’ve noticed.”

Her eyebrows came down and shyly said, “Well, there is something.”

“Go ahead.”

She played with the hem of her shirt. “Um, I’ve heard from quite a few people that you’re not the same person you used to be. And, I’ve heard all these stories about the ‘Old Oliver.’ I’ve also read a bunch of articles and have seen pictures online. And, let me say, you really are nothing like that person. I just wanted to know why? What made you turn your life around? Looking at the dates from the last few articles of you being the old you, it’s only been five years. So, what changed?”

He hadn’t been expecting that. “Uh...”

“You don’t have to answer me. It’s okay if you don’t want to.”

He hadn’t always felt comfortable talking about this, he wasn’t much of a talked when it came to his feelings, so he didn’t know how to continue from here. However, the decision was taken from him in the next second when she moved her hand over her stomach lovingly. And he knew, he knew then he had to open up to her. He opened his mouth, ready to speak, but nothing came out. He wasn’t sure where to begin.

Felicity took his silence and spoke. “You know what? I’m sorry I asked. It’s not my place to pry.”

“No, it’s fine.”

At his words, she offered him an encouraging smile.

“I wasn’t a good person. I was such a screw up when I was younger--”

“I gathered.” Catching herself she offered, “Oh, sorry. I’ll shut up now.”

He chuckled. “All I ever cared about back then was the next party and who I could get into bed. My parents’ marriage wasn’t the best either. There was cheating on both ends. It's better now, but Thea, she took it the hardest. She started hanging out with the wrong people and partying a lot. Then one night, five years ago, we got a phone call that she had overdosed. The people that she had been with hadn’t even had the decency to call her an ambulance. They just dropped her off outside the ER, on the ground, like she was yesterday’s trash.”

He heard the small gasp that came from Felicity, but continued on.

“She was only fifteen. She didn’t deserve that, even if she willingly took, whatever it was she took. She was just a lost kid and she could’ve died because these people had been so reckless. The doctors had managed to pump her stomach and clear her body of what she’d taken, but it still took her some time to wake up. Her body was trying to catch up. I just remember she looked so fragile. and small. I decided that day that I was going to get my act together. To be the best brother she deserved. To be a good role model for her. To be someone she could look up to. I’ve only ever wanted to protect her.”

“Oh, Oliver,” Felicity whispered softly. He could see unshed tears in her eyes. She dabbed her eyes with her hands. “I swear it’s only because of the hormones." 

She laughed and he found himself laughing too. She had the amazing ability to make his heart light, even when it was heavy.

“Okay, and maybe also because that was such a powerful story.” She move her hand over his and made eye contact with him. “Thank you for telling me that story. I know it took a lot from you. But, you should know, that you’re a wonderful brother. I can see how much you love Thea. And Thea? She loves you so much. You should hear the way she talks about you. You’re her hero, Oliver.”

Her reaffirmation hit him at his core.

“Thank you,” he mumbled, because it was all he could think of to say.

**__________**

Felicity drummed on her thighs while she and Oliver waited to be called. They were sitting at the waiting room in the doctor’s office. In less than an hour, they would know if they were having a little girl or boy. Felicity looked around the room. There was a receptionist talking on the phone. There was another couple, animatedly discussing baby names. It looked like a heated discussion. There were also a couple of moms who appeared to be there by themselves. And, they kept staring at Oliver.

At this point, she had become accustomed to the fact women fawned over Oliver all the time. He was very attractive, there was absolutely no denying that. And yes, it did give Felicity an extreme amount of satisfaction that Oliver didn’t even pay attention to it. That was probably because he was used to it. Either way, it made Felicity happy that no one captured his attention. They hadn’t talked about relationships and what would be appropriate, but they weren’t in a relationship. So if he wanted, Oliver could date anyone he wanted. Felicity didn’t have a claim on him, and that brought a wave of sadness she knew she shouldn’t feel.

“You’re nervous,” Oliver noted.

She stopped her hands and turned to look at him. “Well, yeah,” she said. She caressed her stomach with hand, smiling when she felt a little nudge. Baby was awake. “Aren’t you?” she asked. She grabbed his hand and put it over her stomach where she had felt the baby kick.

He smiled at her. “I think the baby is excited for us to find out. I just want it to be healthy. I don’t care what it ends up being.”

“But come on, you have a preference don’t you?”

“Not really. Do you?”

“Just healthy. I can picture both. But, I just want a happy and healthy baby.”

Oliver removed his hand from her stomach. “My dad wants a boy. He just wants to be able to have his first grandchild be a boy.”

A nurse came out of the doors and said, “Felicity Smoak?”

“That’s me!” Felicity said, a little too loudly. She attempted to get up quickly, but struggled. The farther into her pregnancy she got, the more trouble she seemed to have with mobility. Thankfully, Oliver was there to help lift her up. “Thanks,” she said, before walking in the direction of the nurse.

“Okay, come with me,” the nurse announced.

Walking through the hallway, the nurse looked at her paperwork. She opened up a door to one of the rooms and instructed them to sit. “I’m going to take your vitals, and then the doctor will be here with you.”

When the nurse was done, she left the room and informed them the doctor would be arriving soon.

Felicity broke the silence the room had been filled with. “Why is this so nerve wracking? I have _no_ idea how some people go the entire pregnancy without finding out. I mean, why wouldn’t you just want to know _something_? I hate not knowing things.”

“Felicity, breathe. It’s okay. We’re going to know soon. And then, we’ll be able to begin picking things for the nursery.”

“The nursery… Well, I had completely forgotten about that until now. Now I’m freaking out over a whole new list of things. Shit. We should really start buying things. We’re at the halfway mark. When do people usually start decorating?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t pay attention when Laurel and Tommy were pregnant with Rebecca. I wasn’t aware I’d be in that situation at some point.”

“Okay, it’s going to be fine. We’ll figure it out. Together. ‘Cause we’re a team.”

He smiled at her, like he was surprised she would say so, and it made her smile back at him. His smile always caused butterflies in her. It was so blinding that it sometimes caused her to want to kiss him silly, right then and there. But, she couldn’t. It took a lot of strength from her, but she would guard her baby’s heart with every ounce of energy she had.

He grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Yeah, we are.”

There was a knock at the door and they both looked up, Felicity dropping Oliver’s hand, to find her doctor coming in.

“Hey there,” Dr. Griffin greeted the two of them with a smile. “Are you two ready to find out what you’re having?”

“Oh, yes. Definitely,” Felicity answered.

The doctor came closer to them, and began to set up the ultrasound machine. “Sounds good. How have you been feeling?”

“Hungry. All the time. And, I find myself craving the oddest things. Like the other day I wanted a celery stick.”

The doctor scrunched her nose, then tilted her head. “Why is that weird?”

“Well, because I hate celery. I mean, I don’t understand the reason for its existence.”

The doctor laughed. “All right, lean back.”

She gave Felicity a thin hospital blanket to cover her lower body. Once she’s covered, she pulls her dress up and bunches it under her breasts, leaving her stomach bare. She rubbed it soothingly. She still found it incredible that her body had changed so much since she’s been pregnant. But, she loves everything about it.

“Ready?” the doctor asked.

Felicity gave a short nod and the doctor rubbed cold gel on her stomach. She didn’t like it much. The doctor then proceeded and soon enough, their baby came on the screen. It was soon followed by the sound of its heartbeat. Felicity would never tire of hearing it. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. She turned to Oliver and found that same look of amazement on his face, as he looked at the monitor.

“Everything is looking good. Measurements are appropriate for 20 weeks. The baby is healthy.”

Felicity heard what was being said, but it took a backseat to Oliver. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. He was captivating when he was happy. Almost as if sensing her eyes on him, he turned and locked eyes with her. She saw something in them she couldn’t quite describe. But, it brought butterflies to her stomach again.

She felt something pulling at her. Pulling her deeper into him. She couldn’t deny it. Maybe this was what had brought them together that first night. Maybe there was something completely undeniable and inevitable between them. And, she knew that he felt it too. She could see it in his eyes.

“And, it looks like you’ll be having a… boy.”

Oliver’s eyes widened. “A boy?”

“Yes, it’s a boy,” the doctor answered him.

Oliver let out a joyous laugh. And, the smile on his face was so full of happiness, unlike she had ever seen before.

A boy.

They were having a boy.

She felt the excitement bubble up within her. She felt ecstatic. She joined Oliver in laughter. She was so overcome with glee, and before she could think any better of it, she leaned up and kissed him.

She felt him pause at the action, probably unsure of what she was doing, and it gave her enough time to _actually_ realize what she was doing. She began to pull away, but he caught the back of her neck and pulled her back, kissing her softly.

“Well, I can see you two are happy with the news.”

The doctor’s voice brought her back and they pulled away from each other. She studied him for a couple of seconds and she could see questions in his eyes for her. She put her attention back at the doctor and cleared her throat. “Oh, boy.”

**__________**

He could tell she was nervous. Was it because of the kiss? Did she regret it? Was it an “in the moment” thing? He hoped it wasn’t. He watched her tidy things throughout the loft. Which was very unlike her. One of the things he had learned in the short time living with her was that Felicity was a mess. But, it was one of the things he loved about her.

“Felicity,” he tried. He knew it wouldn’t get her attention. It usually took a couple of tries when her mind was occupied with her thoughts. “Felicity.”

She stopped arranging a flower vase and looked up at him. “What?”

“You don’t have to do that. Everything looks fine.”

“Oliver, your parents are coming over,” she remarked, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. She gestured at the room with her hands. “Everything has to be perfect.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Perfect?” He let out a breathless laugh. “Why?”

Felicity’s eyes focused to her left and she scratched the back of her head. “I just don’t want to give your mom another reason to hate me.”

“Felicity, she doesn’t hate you--” he paused when Felicity glared at him. “Okay, she doesn’t like you. We can acknowledge that. My mom can be… difficult.”

“That’s putting it lightly. That woman hates me. You can’t tell me any differently. She has made no attempt to talk to me or apologize since that awful dinner at the mansion.”

“I know… but she’s my mom.” He felt at a loss for words, because there really wasn’t much else he could say. He would always love his mom, even if she wasn’t being very supportive of his life currently. He only hoped she would eventually come around.

“She is, which is why no matter how much we disagree, my child needs his grandmother in his life.” She smiled at the end and lovingly caressed her belly. Her smile was contagious.

“Him.” He grinned widely. The fact that he knew they were having a boy, made him feel like a kid in a candy store. It brought him a lot of joy and he was excited to share that with his family tonight.

A little crinkle formed on Felicity’s forehead and he knew something was bugging her.

“Um, Oliver, we should really talk about what happened at the doctor’s office--”

The sound of a knock at the front door interrupted her.

Oliver groaned. “Hold that thought.” He walked to the door. When he glanced back at Felicity, she was smoothing out the front of her dress. “Felicity,” he caught her attention. “You look beautiful.” He caught her quick take of breath before he opened the door and he found his dad, mom, and Thea standing together.

“Hey, Ollie!” Thea greeted a little too cheerfully.

Something was wrong. He could tell, but he didn’t know what. “Mom, dad, Thea, come in.” He stepped aside and allowed the three to enter the loft.

Felicity had come to stand behind him. “Robert, Thea, Moira, it’s so wonderful to see you all again.”

“Felicity!” Thea wrapped her arms around her in a bone crushing hug.

“Whoa! Be careful with the small child I’m carrying.”

Thea let go immediately. “Right. Sorry. I guess I’m just really happy to be here. And, out of the house.”

Robert gave Oliver a hug. “It’s an exciting day, son!” Robert gave Felicity a hug next. “How are you doing?”

“Pretty well,” she responded.

“And my grandchild? Did we find out what you’re having?”

Felicity looked at him expectantly.

“Dad,” Oliver grinned, “We’re having a boy.”

“A boy?” he whispered.

Oliver’s grin widened. “Yeah,” he confirmed.

His dad broke out into a laugh and hugged him again. “A boy! A grandson. I’m having a grandon.”

“Oh, my gosh! That’s awesome!” Thea exclaimed. She pulled Felicity into another hug. “This is so exciting! I’m going to have a nephew!”

His mother walked up to him, laying a hand on his cheek. “This is wonderful. I’m so proud of you.” She hugged him.

The tension between Felicity and her was still there, but for now, he would bask in the happiness the room had been overtaken by. “Thank you, mom.” He glanced at Felicity who had a smile on her face. He found himself returning it, because when it came to her, he always had a reason to smile.

His mom pulled away and caught where his eyes were. She looked back to Felicity and then walked up to her. She grabbed one of her hands and said, “Congratulations Felicity. This is a wonderful moment for every mother. Enjoy each instant as it comes.”

He could tell that had caught Felicity completely off guard. “Uh, thank you? I mean…” She cleared her throat. “I mean, thank you. It means a lot, Moira.”

His mom nodded then moved to stand next to his father.

He spoke before the room could get any more awkward. “All right, let’s eat.” He directed everyone towards the dining table.

**__________**

Dinner had gone exactly how Felicity had expected it to: awkward. At least this time around she could say it wasn’t because of her. Moira had been less than pleasant the entire evening, with double meanings to all of her comments. Felicity was fine letting it all pass, as long as it meant keeping the peace. It was one of the happiest days of her life and she was not going to let her ruin it. Robert on the other hand, did not have any problem letting Moira know she was being disrespectful. The bickering between the two of them definitely had been something. At some point, Oliver had mouthed a “sorry” from across the table. She could also tell Thea felt dejected. She had grabbed onto her hand underneath the table and squeezed in comfort.

However, it was Oliver’s interjection that had finally put an end to the arguments. So this was what it was like to grow up in the Queen household, she thought. Eventually they had all left, with Robert apologizing to her for Moira’s behavior. Well, at least she could say she got along with one in-law. She mentally facepalmed herself at that thought. Because she and Oliver were definitely not together. Even if they had kissed at the doctor’s office this morning. Well, more like she had attacked him, and he had reciprocated.  

As soon as Oliver closed the front door, she let out a sigh. “Well, that was interesting.”

“You can say that,” Oliver rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the ground sheepishly. “Look, I’m sorry about my parents. I know they weren’t the--”

“Oliver,” she interrupted. “That was all your mom. Your dad, thank God for him, was trying to keep her at bay. But hey,” she reached up to lay a hand on his bicep--and was momentarily distracted by the muscle there, she could swear it was getting hotter in the room. “I accept her as she is. She’s our son’s grandmother, so no matter what, she’s family. And, family is important. You have to love them no matter what.”

The smile he gave her was blinding. And, she began to feel warm all over again. _Everywhere_.

**__________**

He stared at Felicity, because how could he not? She took his breath away; as cheesy as that sounded. And, even though he knew she wouldn’t want to talk about it, he had to talk about the kiss. He had to see where she was at. Had she meant to kiss him? Was it an in-the-heat-of-the-moment thing? Did she feel anything for him?

“Felicity,” he began, but was interrupted by the shrill ring of his phone. He took his phone out of his pocket and groaned when he saw Thea’s name appear on the screen. He was not ready to deal with his family yet.

Felicity appeared relieved to have an interference in the conversation. He knew, she knew what he wanted to talk to her about. She was still running from him and that didn’t sit well with him.

“You should probably answer that,” she whispered.

He nodded and she moved away from him in the next second.

He cleared his throat, then tapped on the screen, before bringing the phone up to his ear. “Hey, what’s up? Did mom and dad give you problems on the way home?”

He heard Thea sniffling from the other side and he felt himself tense up. “Thea, what’s wrong?”

“Oliver! It’s dad. He had a heartattack.”

**__________**

The next half hour was a blur for him. Somehow, he had managed to let Felicity know what had happened and she jumped to take control. She grabbed their coats and ushered them down to her car. She had managed to drive them down to the hospital as well. They rushed into the waiting room for the ICU, where they found Thea and Moira sitting, with Thea’s head on Moira’s shoulder. The second Thea saw him, she jumped out of her chair and into his arms.

“What happened?” he asked frantically. He pulled away from Thea, and with both hands on her face, asked her, “Are you okay?”

That brought out a new wave of tears from her. She shook her head and whispered, “I’m scared.”

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he reassured her. Although, he really didn’t know. He just had to protect her. It was his job as her older brother.

He glanced over at his mom, who was still sitting in a chair, appearing... guilty. “What happened?” he gritted forcefully.

His mom opened her mouth, but then closed it. After a few seconds, Thea answered.

“Mom and dad were having a fight, over dinner and her less than welcoming treatment towards Felicity, and then when we got home, he had the heart attack.”

Now he understood his mom’s stance. But, he couldn’t be completely mad at her, because from the looks of it, she’d been beating herself up just fine. He wrapped Thea in his arms one more time, the need to protect her from her sadness, overwhelming. Though, he honestly didn’t know if everything would actually be all right. He’d never known his dad to be anything but strong, and the fact that this happened to him, had him a little shaken up. But, he knew he couldn’t allow himself to fall apart right now. His family was depending on him. And, if he fell apart, then they wouldn’t be able to.

Felicity walked into his peripheral, and in a surprising move to him, sat next to his mom. Felicity grasped his mother’s hand in her own, showing her support. He heard her whisper softly, “It’s going to be okay.”

He had known her to be compassionate, but this, this was beyond that. Because of the fact she was offering her support to someone who had been less than kind to her. The action caused pride to swell in him, that she would do that. Her ability to love others, even when they may not have deserved it, baffled him. He couldn’t think of anyone else he had met, that was able to show that kind of love towards others. It also made him feel incredibly lucky that she was in his life.

“Family of Robert Queen?”

They heard a doctor ask, and all turn their heads collectively.

“That’s us,” Oliver responded, voice a little unsteady. He walked over to stand in front of the doctor.

“Well, he suffered a pretty severe heart attack. There was a small blot clot, that was prohibiting blood to flow freely to his heart. We gave him a blood thinner, and that seems to be helping. He’s responding very well to it. But, hospital policy, we’re keeping him overnight. He’s sleeping now, but he can have visitors. Only two at a time, though. He’s in room 224, right around the corner,” he gave directions with his hands. “If you need anything, please feel free to get a hold of one of the nurses.”

Oliver glanced back at his mom, silently asking if she wanted to go in.

Catching his eye, she said, “Why don’t you and Thea go on ahead. I’ll wait out here.”

He noticed Felicity’s eyes widen a bit, then go back to normal. She locked eyes with him and gave him a small nod, letting him know that she would be fine. Thea went to stand right next to him. He put his arm around her and laid a small kiss to her forehead, then lead the way to where their father was at. When they arrived to the room, they saw their father sleeping on the hospital bed; hooked up to machines that were monitoring everything. He looked so vulnerable.

He grabbed two chairs and moved them next to the bed. They both sat down. Thea immediately grabbed onto their dad’s hand.

“He’s going to be fine, right?” she asked so quietly, that he almost didn’t hear her.

“Yeah,” he reassured her.

“Don’t lie to me, Ollie.”

Sometimes it was difficult for him to believe that she was growing up. He’d been her protector for all of his life. The fact that the role now was slowly changing was still a little difficult for him.

“I know you’re just trying to protect me, but, I’m a big girl. I can handle the truth.”

“Hey,” he grabbed onto her free hand and she looked at him. “I know you’re growing up, but I’m your big brother. I’m always going to try to protect you from the world.” He gave her a small smile, which she returned.

“I know.”

He cleared his throat. “I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen with dad. I don’t know what the repercussions will be. I do know, though, that we’ll work through it together. As the crazy, dysfunctional family we are.”

That caused Thea to laugh. “Oh, gosh, yes. With a mother who values high society and what others think, a reformed father, who once upon a time didn’t care for what his indiscretions did to the family, a drug addict daughter, and a former playboy who’s now living with his knocked up ‘friend,’ that he secretly is in love with.” She supplied air quotes with her hands.

He raised his eyebrows at the last part. “What?” he asked, off guard.

“I’m twenty Ollie, not blind. I see the way you look at her. I’ve seen that look on your face since that disastrous first dinner. Are you ever going to tell her?”

He scratched the back of his head. “Uh, I’m not sure. I don’t think she’s ready. I don’t know if she’ll ever be ready to hear that from me. And, I don’t want to risk losing her.”

“But, what if she feels the same way, and you don’t take the chance?”

That was a loaded question. One he didn’t get the chance to answer, because his father stirred to consciousness.

“Dad?” Thea asked.

His dad’s eyes blinked open. “Thea? Oliver?”

“We’re here dad,” he responded.

Robert removed the breathing mask they had put on him.

“Um, dad, I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to stay on,” Thea advised.

“I’m glad you’re both here.”

“Of course, where else would we be?” Oliver put his hand on top of Thea’s, on their dad’s.

“Oliver, Thea, I know I haven’t always been the best father.” He was visibly straining himself when speaking to them.

“Dad, you don’t have to say anything,” Thea said, attempting to get him to stop. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk about it later.”

“No, I need to get this out. I don’t know how much time I have left. I wasn’t always the best father, but I want you two to know, that there’s never been a moment where I haven’t been proud of you. You two are the most precious things in the world to me. Although, now, you’re running a close second with my grandson.” He chuckled, but it turned into a cough. “The fact that you were willing to forgive me after everything, means so much to me. I love you both, so much. Wherever life leads you, I hope you allow yourselves to follow your dreams.”

“Dad, why are you talking like this? You’re scaring us.”

“Thea, I just need to get this out. I want to make sure that I don’t miss a second. That I tell you what you mean to me, because time is short. Son, I want you to know that you have become the man I always knew you could be. And now, you’re going to have a son of your own. I know he’ll make you as happy, as you’ve made me. I think you should tell Felicity how you feel about her.”

He let out a breath and Thea laughed.

“That’s what I told him.”

“You two are hilarious.”

“She’s a wonderful person. She’s perfect for you. I couldn’t have chosen anyone better to be a part of the family.”

Oliver gave an exasperated laugh. “Okay, old man. Enough of this crazy talk. You’re going to be fine.”

An hour later he both left the room, once his father had fallen asleep. A nurse had come into the room to take his vitals and informed them that everything was going very well. Oliver felt relief at the fact his father was doing better. When he looked back at his day, this had definitely not been the emotions he thought he’d be feeling.

Reaching the waiting room, he found Felicity sitting in a chair with her head against the wall, slightly snoring.

“She fell asleep twenty minutes ago. She tried to stay up for you, but the exhaustion got to her.”

“Dad fell asleep, but Thea’s still in there, if you want to go in.”

He looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was almost one in the morning. No wonder she was passed out.

“I should find her a way home.” He sat down next to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” he said gently.

She blinked a few times before keeping them open and taking in her surroundings. She rubbed her eyes. “Hey, how’s your dad?”

“He’s much better. The nurse said he was responding to all of the medication. We should get you home, though.”

“What? No, I’m fine here.”

“Felicity, I’m sure the seats here are not comfortable. You’re pregnant. You should go to sleep in a bed.”

“Oliver, I can make do with this. Plus, I could probably convince one of the nurses to give me a free bed. I can be pretty convincing,” she winked. “Oliver, I’m not going to leave you. I want to be here with you.”

He sighed. At this point he knew not to argue with her. “Okay. Thank you, Felicity.”

She smiled brightly at him. “Of course, where else would I be?”

She made his life brighter. That he knew for certain. He was completely taken by her. This ray of Sunshine that had just come into his life unexpectedly. She gave him something he hadn't had in some time: hope.

He leaned back into his chair, leaning his head against the wall, and felt himself drift into sleep with the comforting feeling of a hand holding his own.

**__________**

An alarm went off, stirring him from his sleep. Felicity was still seated beside him, but held a cup in her hands. She looked around, trying to find the source of the alarm, and he found himself following suit. That’s when he saw them. Nurses rushing towards his father’s room. He felt his heart drop. Jumping up from his chair he hurried towards the room, but was stopped by Thea, who was running towards him.

“What's going on?” he yelled.

He could see tears in her eyes.

“Dad had another heart attack.” She was frantic.

He continued to make his way to the room, suddenly everything moving in slow motion. By the time he got there he heard the single, continuous beep.

His mother was standing off to the side, and appeared to be in a catatonic stage. Eyes wide, hands down at her sides. She didn't take her eyes off of his dad.

The doctor worked over him, starting compressions, calling out instructions to the nurses who were setting up the defibrillator.

They gave his dad a shock.

_Nothing_.

The doctor began compressions again.

Another shock.

_Nothing_.

They waited.

Oliver could hear next to him, bawling uncontrollably. He ran his fingers through his hair. He felt helpless.

“One more time,” the doctor instructed.

They gave another shock.

_Nothing_.

The doctor looked around the room, then directed his attention to the nurses. He spoke softly, “Call it.” He looked at his mom, sister, and him. “I’m so sorry.”

“No. No. No, no, no, no,” Thea cried out.

Oliver turned around and caught her before she tumbled to the ground, her legs giving out. He held her in his arms, attempting to soothe her, even though he himself had no idea what they were going to do. He couldn’t believe this was happening.

He felt hollow. _Empty_.

Everything around him began to work in a blur.

How were they going to go on from here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry? I know it sucks, but I promise good things will come out of it. Stick around. (:


	14. What Now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for all of your comments and kudos. I can't tell you enough how giddy they make me. :) 
> 
> Here's the next chapter. And, I'm hoping to have the next chapter completed even sooner than this one came. 
> 
> Hope you like it!

The next week passed rapidly for Felicity. Robert’s death appeared to leave the Queen family in a catatonic state. She hadn’t seen much of Oliver, but she didn’t blame him. She understood. She wasn’t offended. She knew this was his way of dealing with his father’s death. She just wished he would allow her to be there for him. Like she’d been there for the rest of his family this last week. Their kiss at the doctor’s office had been long forgotten, or at least put on the back burner for the time being, in light of more pressing matters. Thea had also been absent. Felicity hadn’t been sure where the younger Queen was spending her time, but hoped she was fine. This had left Felicity to keep company to just one Queen.

 _Moira_.

Felicity had been by her side the entire week. Which had completely shocked her. Especially since Moira had taken to being _nice_ to her. But, Felicity chalked it up to the fact her husband had just died. And, the fact Felicity had been helping Moira with all the funeral and reception arrangements… since her own children had disappeared. It had also been because of this, that Felicity had been staying at the Queen mansion the last few days. It had just been easier to help Moira out while under the same roof.

Felicity gave one last glance at herself in the mirror. She wore a black dress with a high neckline, black tights, and black flats. It was far too monotone for her, but, it was the day of Robert’s funeral, and she wanted to pay him his last respects correctly. However, she had felt she could get away with a dark purple coat.

Loud voices floating in from the hallway caught her attention, and she walked towards it, stepping outside of the room. There she found Moira reprimanding Thea.

“Your father’s funeral is in an hour, Thea! And you’re just now getting in?” Moira asked desperately, emphasizing with her hands.

Thea rubbed the sides of her head. “Oh, God. Not so loud, please.”

Moira scoffed. “Are you hungover?”

Thea rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask a question you don’t want the answer to.”

Moira took a deep breath, then her gaze turned menacing. “You are going to go get dressed, and then a driver will take you to the cemetery. I expected better from you, Thea.”

Thea’s jaw dropped. “ _You expected better from me?_ ” Thea asked incredulously. “It’s your fault this happened!”

Felicity noticed Moira pale at the accusation and decided to intervene. Before any more hurtful words could be exchanged. She walked up to them and put a hand on Thea’s shoulder to gain her attention.

“Okay, hey. Moira, why don’t you go ahead and go to the cemetery? I’ll stay behind with Thea and make sure she takes a shower. And gets some coffee.”

She saw Moira relax out of the corner of her eye. “Thank you, Felicity. I’ll see you both there.” She turned and left, leaving the two of them together.

“All right, let’s get you in the shower.” She began to direct Thea to her bedroom.

“Uh, thanks Felicity, but I’m just going to head to bed. I just need to sleep.”

“Yeah, no. We’re not doing that. We are going to go to your father’s funeral.”

Thea scoffed. “I’m not going. I’m not going anywhere my mom is.”

Felicity closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No, Thea. It’s your dad’s funeral.”

“Yeah, and whose fault is that?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“No one’s,” Felicity answered, easily. “It was an accident. Things happen all the time. Doesn’t mean it’s someone’s fault. This argument could give me an aneurysm, but it still wouldn’t be your fault.”

Thea’s eyes widened.

“Now, come on. Let’s get you into the shower.”

“Fine,” Thea muttered.

Felicity dragged Thea through her room and into the bathroom. She sat her down on the closed toilet lid. She moved to the shower and turned on the water. Felicity walked over to stand in front of Thea. Her makeup was smudged, eyes red from crying, hair in knots. She attempted to unknot some of Thea’s hair with her hands. “No matter what you’re feeling towards you mom right now, you should go for your dad. For yourself. You’ll regret it if you don’t.” Felicity took in Thea’s appearance more closely, and, a realization dawned on her. “Oh, my God. _Are you high?_ ”

**__________**

After that, Felicity lost most of her compassion for the young girl. Instead, ordering her around until she was ready and they were headed to the funeral. They had arrived with ten minutes to spare and with no sign of Oliver.

“Ollie’s not here,” Thea muttered to Felicity from where they were seated. She challenged Felicity by raising an eyebrow.

“Thea,” Felicity sighed. “I know that we haven’t known each other that long, but in the time we have, I’ve come to know that you have such a pure heart. And, not being here, to say good-bye, would’ve killed you. Not literally, of course, but figuratively. And Oliver, well, he’s responsible for himself. You, on the other hand, are still young enough that people have a say.”

“You’re only five years older than me.”

“True. But, I also have master's degree and am currently five months pregnant.”

Thea smirked at that. “Thank you, Felicity.” She lay her head on Felicity’s shoulder, and Felicity put her arm around Thea’s shoulder comfortingly. They would get through this together. 

____________

He hadn’t shown up to the funeral. Felicity felt out of her league. She didn’t know what it felt to lose a parent with whom she had spent many years building a relationship with. When her father left, she hadn’t remembered much about him. Even now, she couldn’t remember much about him. She had just been too young. She remembered how much it had sucked. But this? This she imagined felt much worse than what she had gone through.

She excused herself from the group she was currently with, which included Moira, all sharing memories they had of Robert. She could see how much this was helping Moira, by the look on her face. Feel as she might about the woman, she knew Moira was currently struggling to keep her sanity. And, for the simple fact she could hold herself together now, on the day they had buried her husband, showed her strength. Because, Felicity was not sure she would be able to do so. Others might view it as heartless, but Felicity _knew_. Felicity knew she wasn’t allowing herself to mourn in front of others, so Thea would be able to mourn freely. She was holding it together so Thea could act out however she wanted. So that Oliver could mourn on his own. She was being incredibly strong for her family, and it caused Felicity to see her in a whole new light. It was definitely not something she’d ever thought she’d see or acknowledge from Moira.

Felicity walked throughout the Queen mansion, attempting to find a bathroom. But, the thing was so damn big, she kept getting lost. She opened a door, finding a study. A bookcase made up one wall, filled completely to the brim. She walked towards them absentmindedly. Not thinking, but just fascinated by what she had discovered. She lay her hand on one of the books, slightly pulling it out to read the title. As she made her way to the other end of the bookcase, she came closer to a large mahogany desk, filled with family pictures. She realized then she must have walked into Robert’s study. She moved closer to the desk, to take a better look at the pictures, when she caught sight of Oliver sitting on the floor, leaning against the desk.

She yelped out in surprise, and covered her mouth with her hand. “Jesus, Oliver. You scared me.”

He looked up to meet her gaze. “Sorry,” he said so quietly, she almost didn’t hear it. His eyes were bloodshot. A mixture of sleeplessness and tears, she guessed.

It tore at her heart.

“Oh, Oliver,” she said softly. She walked over to sit in a chair, right next to Oliver. Without thinking, she asked the first thing on her mind. “How have you been?” Realizing what she had asked, she shut her eyes. “Sorry. Dumb question. How else would you be? I mean, you look like hell. Not saying you’d be expected to look like anything else during this time.” She pulled her lips into a tight line. “I’m going to shut up now.”

He offered a small chuckle. “It’s fine.” They were silent for a few minutes before he spoke again. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around. Are you okay? Is the baby okay?”

“Don’t worry about me Oliver. Worry about your family. I’m fine. The baby’s fine.”

He was quiet for a moment, before speaking again. “Felicity, you are my family.”

She took a deep breath, letting the words hang there in-between them, and then gave him a short nod in acknowledgement.

“Uh, thank you for helping my mom out with all of this stuff. I don’t think I would’ve been able to do so. I just couldn’t be around them. I know it’s awful, but I just needed time. To be… by myself. To… process everything, I guess.”

“I understand.” She rubbed her belly soothingly, touching over where the baby was currently poking his feet at. Or his hand. She hadn’t quite figured out how to distinct the limbs out yet. But, him moving around reminded her of her original goal. “Okay, well, I’ll leave you to your… time alone? I have to go to the bathroom. This kid is dancing on my bladder right now.” She slowly stood up.

“It saddens me that my dad won’t meet him. Won’t know him. Won’t be able to play with him or take him places. He won’t be able to create memories with him. Like I did.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the desk.

“I know that they won’t ever meet, but I promise you Oliver, our child will know about his grandfather. He’ll know about the man who welcomed me with open arms. Who kept in contact with me to see how he was doing--how I was doing. He’ll know that his grandfather loved him more than anything, and couldn’t wait to meet him.” She offered him a small, hopefully comforting, smile.

“Thank you, Felicity.”

She smiled softly and walked out of the room.

**__________**

Felicity stepped out of the bathroom and made her way back into the main area, where the reception was being held. She took in the room. She noticed some people had left, but there were still many who had stayed behind. She wondered how many people Robert had touched during his time here. She also wondered how many people had shown up, just to say they had gone to Robert Queen’s funeral. That part upset her. She would never fully understand people’s obsession with the Queen family. Well, her family now. But, at least the paparazzi had taken a hiatus from them this past week. They hadn’t followed her much this week, and she found herself thankful for that. Though, it had probably had to do with the fact it was just so sad that Robert had passed away. Moira had put out a statement asking them for privacy. How? Felicity had no idea. Moira had spent the entire week surprising her.

Felicity caught sight of Tommy and Laurel, and made her way over to them.

“Hey,” Tommy greeted her.

“Hi,” she responded softly, with a small smile. “How are you two doing?”

“We’re fine. How are you?” Laurel asked her, laying a hand on Felicity’s shoulder.

“Tired. This week has just taken all my energy.”

“I bet,” Tommy surmised. “Where is Oliver?”

“In the study. I think it’s too hard for him to be here.”

“Yeah. Robert was more of a father than my own. It’s crazy to think that he’s gone. How is Oliver doing?”

“Uh, he’s… well, he’s trying to deal with it. But, you know, it’s not easy. I’m just trying to give him some space right now.” She shrugged.

“He’ll come around. We’re about to head out, but, call us if you guys need anything.” Tommy gave Felicity a hug.

“Thank you.”

“Bye Felicity,” Laurel said, giving her a hug.

**__________**

When all of the guests had left, Felicity helped the housekeeper clean up some of the dishes around the room.

“Felicity.”

She turned to see Moira standing by the doorway. “Yes?”

Moira walked up to stand in front of her. “I know I haven’t been the nicest to you in the past, but I want you to know I’m very thankful for all of your help this week.” She pulled Felicity in for a hug. “I couldn’t have gotten through the past week without you. And, I can’t thank you enough for that. I’m truly sorry that I’ve been unfair in the past.”

“Uh….” She was speechless, but instead of making an idiot out of herself, she thought of something to say quickly. “I mean, I, thank you.

Moira moved back, and said, “I hope that we can move past this and learn to build a better relationship. That’s if you’ll forgive me?”

It was easy to say that had not been what Felicity had been expecting to come out of Moira Queen’s mouth. And, it must have shown in her face.

“I want you to know that this isn’t just for today. You’re my grandchild’s mother, and I want to be invested in his life, and yours. Because you’re a part of this family, too.”

If she thought she was speechless before, she wouldn’t even know what to name what she was now.

Moira smiled softly at her, and Felicity could see it was truly sincere. All she could do was give an affirmative nod of her head.

Moira returned one of her own. “You don’t have to worry about picking up the rest of the room. I’ll make sure it gets done. Go get some rest.”

“Okay,” Felicity managed, then made her way back upstairs to gather her bags. She was ready to go home.

**__________**

It was night the next time he heard the door to the study open. He had lost track of time, which was something that had happened a lot to him recently. He didn’t turn to see who it was. It didn’t really matter to him. Not much did at the moment.

His mother came into view, standing before him. She knelt down in front of him and wrapped her arms around him. “Oh, my beautiful boy.”

And that was all it took. Tears started spilling out of him and he couldn’t stop them. He didn’t know how to stop them. So, he allowed himself to cry in the comfort of his mother’s arms, where they could both mourn their loss together.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before they both stopped crying. They pulled away from each other and sat side by side, against his father’s desk.

His mother spoke first. “I can’t believe he’s gone. I keep hoping I’ll wake up and he’ll be here. That someone will tell me this has been a horrible nightmare. But, it’s not going to happen.” Her voice broke at the end. “We didn’t always have the best relationship, but we loved each other. Of that you can be sure. We had overcome so many of our mistakes. We were finally at a good place in our relationship. I just don’t want to accept that this is our reality now. But, I have to. Just like you have to. Just like Thea has to. We have to move forward now. Like a family. The only one holding this family together right now is Felicity, but we can’t continue to put that pressure on her. We each need to do our part.”

That caught him off guard. “What?”

“We need to put in our part,” she repeated.

“No, I heard that part. Did you just refer to Felicity as family?”

“Well, she is a part of this family,” she deadpanned.

He felt like he had walked into an alternative dimension. “Mom, you’ve never referred to her as anything other than the girl I got pregnant.”

“Well, it’s obviously time to change that,” she gave him a small smile, which he returned, patting his hand. “I haven’t been the most understanding with her in the past.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“All right, I was a bitch. But, I’m learning I cannot behave that way. Especially with the woman who is carrying my grandchild.”

“What is going on right now? You’re being nice _and_ admitting you were wrong?” he teased.

“I’ve already apologized to Felicity--”

“You apologized?!” He let out a small laugh that erupted into a full body one.

“Oh, knock it off, Oliver,” she warned, attempting to sound serious, but unable to let it reach the smile on her face.

He reigned in his laughter. “Okay, okay.”

“I was awful to that young woman. Your father’s death made me realize that family is the most important thing. Spending time with the ones you love the most. That’s what should really count in life. Because, you never know when our time will be up. And with this whole ordeal she, she just stepped up without being asked. I wouldn’t have been able to get through this week without her. She's a remarkable person.”

“Yeah, she is,” he agreed. A thought came to his mind, something he hadn't been able to stop thinking about the past week. "Hey, mom?"

“Yes?”

“I don't want to be CEO. I know the board is going to look for me to become CEO, now that dad is gone, but I don't want to be. If I’m being honest, I’ve never wanted to be. I’ve been thinking a lot about this over the last week. So, this isn’t a rash decision. I need to start living the kind of life I want. I need to start living the kind of life I want my son to have. One where he can do what he wants. I want him to be proud of me.”

“And he will be. Just like your father. I knew QC was never the right fit for you. I told your father that, too. But, he always told me that he knew you had it in you to run a company. He was just waiting for that part to show up. And, it did to an extent. You were successful during your time there, and that made your father very happy. But, he could also see that your heart wasn’t in it. He was actually waiting for you to approach him about it. He’d be just as proud for making this decision.”

“Thanks mom.” He gave her a hug. When he pulled back, he asked, “So, who’s going to be CEO now?”

“I guess I can step up to the role, for now. And then, we’ll figure it out.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. It’ll come to us.” She grabbed onto his hand, giving it a pat with her free one. “We’ll get through it together.”

They smiled this newfound peace, and enjoyed the silence for a few minutes.

“Mom? Is Felicity still here?” Oliver asked.

“No, she grabbed her bags and left about an hour ago. I told her she needed to rest.”

He nodded.

“And, you need to go home as well. You can’t keep hiding out, Oliver. She needs you. And, if we’re being honest here, you need her.”

He glanced at her. “What?”

“Ever since she came into your life, you’ve seemed lighter. Happier. Whatever is going on between the two of you, don't let it pass you. Take advantage of it. You might not get another chance.”

She was right. He knew she was. He understood how precious time was. Now more than ever. And, he wouldn't waste it anymore.

**__________**

“Where is Nyssa?”

Before heading home, Felicity had stopped by Sara and Nyssa’s apartment for dinner. She had changed into a pair of sweatpants and a large t-shirt. Now, they were in the living room, getting ready to throw a movie on. Felicity picked up a few pieces of popcorn and threw them in her mouth. “I missed us doing this.”

Sara sat down next to her, and lay her head on Felicity’s shoulder. “Yeah, me too. We should start them back up again.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Felicity responded, laying her own head on Sara’s.

“So, how is Oliver doing?”

Felicity straightened up, letting out a sigh. “To be honest, I don’t really know. I haven’t exactly seen him this last week. But, how do you expect him to be? I was able to finally speak to him today. And, he just seemed so broken. So, sad. I wish I could help him, but at the same time, I know he has to do this on his own. Plus, with the kiss, it’s safe to say I’m kind of glad he hasn’t been around.” She realized what she’d said, and to whom, too late. Her eyes widened and she snapped her hand to cover her mouth.

Sara cocked her head to the side. “Kiss?” she asked, raising one perfectly shaped eyebrow.

Felicity felt herself warm up. “Uh… kiss? I didn’t mean like a kiss, kiss. Just like …. a … kiss,” she floundered. Knowing this would not go anywhere, she gave up. She dropped her head. “Fine. Oliver and I kissed. But, it was an in the moment kiss.” She winced. “That I initiated.”

“Whoa, seriously? Out of the two of you, I for sure thought he’d be the first one to make the move. Way to go Smoak. So, where are you going to go from here?”

Felicity grumbled. “I don’t know. I really don’t.” She took a deep breath. “I’m about to tell you something, but if you make a big deal about it, I will hurt you.”

She could already see Sara’s face fill with glee. “Okay.”

“I really like him. I’m falling for him… hard.”

Sara squealed and clapped her hands. “I knew it!”

“Sara,” Felicity warned.

“What?” she shrugged. “So what are you going to do about it?”

Felicity threw her hands in the air. “Okay, well, I’m not even sure he feels the same way. I mean, I pretty much attacked him at the doctor’s office.”

“First thing, there’s no need to worry about that. Have you paid any attention to the way he looks at you? That boy has been charmed by you since day one. Just like I knew he would be. You’re one of a kind, Felicity Smoak.”

Sara grinned at her, causing her to laugh.

“You on the other hand, took a bit longer. Actually, a lot longer than I would’ve thought… or wanted.” She hugged Felicity. “Just talk to him about it next time you see each other. It might distract him from everything going on. It’ll be fine. The two of you will figure it out.”

“Thanks Sara.”

**___________**

Oliver knocked on the door, then put his hand back into his pocket. The front door opened to reveal Tommy holding Rebecca.

“Unc’e Ollie!” the little girl excitedly greeted.

“Hey,” Tommy said. “Come in.” He moved to the side to let him in the house.

Oliver walked in, making his way through the familiar home. He caught sight of the pictures hanging on the walls, as they made their way to the living room. He wondered if this would be what his life with his son would be. Pictures throughout their home, capturing moments in their life.

When they reached their destination, Tommy put the toddler down. He knelt down until he was at eye level with her. “Why don’t you go to your room. I’ll be in shortly to help you get ready for bed. Okay?”

“Okay, daddy.” She gave him a kiss, and then ran off.

Tommy focused back on Oliver. They both sat down on the couches. “So, what’s going on? You were MIA all afternoon.”

Oliver felt slightly embarassed. He realized hiding hadn’t been the best idea. “Yeah, I know. I was… dealing with everything.”

Tommy nodded. “Well, you know I’m always here for you.”

Oliver smiled. He could always count on his best friend. “Yeah. That’s actually why I stopped by. I wanted to discuss something with you.”

“What is it?”

For the next hour, Oliver explained his vision to Tommy. He was enthusiastic in sharing his ideas, hoping his friend would be on board with helping him.

**____________**

Sara and Felicity were in an animated conversation about the most recent cat video Sara had seen, when the front door opened and Nyssa  walked in. “They didn’t have a large selection of candy, but I hope I got ones you’ll like. Oh, and I brought you ice cream.”

Felicity fist pumped. “Yay! Thank you so much. The baby says thanks, too.” She turned to Sara. “She’s a good one. Don’t lose her. Ever. Or I might hurt you.”

Sara and Nyssa both laughed. After getting a bowl of ice cream and her stack of junk food, Felicity felt ready to watch the movie they had chosen. A comedy. After the saddness from the last few days, it was nice to laugh with her friends. 

**__________**

He walked into the loft, finding it dark. He turned on a light and called out, “Felicity?” He was met with silence. He pulled out his phone and sent Felicity a text, asking her if she was okay. He walked further into the loft, standing in front of the floor to ceiling windows. It felt too quiet. His phone beeped, and he took it out, feeling dissappoinment when he saw the text wasn’t from Felicity. Instead it was a text from Sara, letting him know Felicity had fallen asleep at her place and would be back tomorrow. A pang of sadness washed over him, but pushed it aside. He texted Sara a quick thanks.

With a sigh and one last look at the city he called home, he went upstairs to his bedroom to sleep. He would be making changes to his life, beginning tomorrow.

**__________**

Felicity walked into the loft. After being away for what seemed to her like an excruciatingly long time, she felt relief at being home. The smell of pancakes assaulted her, and she felt a craving for twenty of them, with warm maple syrup on them.

“Hey,” Oliver greeted her from his spot in the kitchen. “You’re home. How was Sara’s?”

“Good. It was nice to hang out for a bit. I needed that.” She set her bags on the couch and walked over to sit on the bar stool. “What’s all this for?” she asked, using her hand to motion at the selection of breakfast food.

“Well, I thought it would be good to for us to spend some time together, since we haven’t seen each other a whole lot, lately. And, I wanted to say thank you. Again. My mom really appreciated everything that you did for her.”

“Oliver, I already told you, I’d do anything for your family. They’re my family now, too.”

He smiled at her. “Felicity, you are an amazing person.”

She felt her cheeks heat up at his words. “Thank you.” Whenever he made those comments, she fell for him a little more. It was like he just knew what to say.

He turned off the griddle and put the last of the pancakes onto the serving plate. Next, he set up a plate for her and moved them to the table. She followed him and sat down, immediately serving herself a cup of coffee. The smell filled her nostrils and she closed her eyes, focusing on the comfort of it.

“Hey, Felicity?”

The wariness in his voice caused her to answer cautiously, but kept her eyes closed. “Yeah?”

“Can we talk about what happened at the doctor’s office?”

Her eyes snapped open to lock with his. Blue staring into blue. “Uh…” She put her coffee back down on the table and scratched the back of her neck. “I guess we should do that. Look about that, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have--”

“I’m not.”

He spoke so confidently that she quickly glanced up at him. “You’re not?”

He shook his head.

“Oh, wow. Um, okay. Well, that’s… interesting.”

“Felicity, would you go on a date with me?” He seemed hopeful.

This was the moment she had to decide whether to take a risk or keep herself shut. Whether she would allow herself to fall head first, instead of being cautious.

But, she knew her answer. So, when the word tumbled out of her mouth, it came simply.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one word: FINALLY.


End file.
